CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
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ICIUIH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  hittoriquas 


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The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
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may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I     I   Covers  damaged  / 


Couverture  endommag^e 

□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
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Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 


d 


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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 


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int^rieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  Use  peut  que  certaines  pages 
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apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  lorsque  ceia  ^tait 
possible,  oes  pages  n'ont  pas  ^te  film^es. 


□    Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires: 


D 
D 
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D 


This  item  ia  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checlted  below  / 

Ce  document  est  fitma  au  taux  da  reduction  indique  ci-dessou«. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-6tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m^tho- 
de  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 

I      I  Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I     I   Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommagtes 


D 

Q 

D 
0 

D 

n 


D 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  pellicul^es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
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tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  totalement  ou 
partiellement  cbscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  6\6  film^es  k  nouveau  de  fa^on  k 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
film^es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


10x 

14x 

18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

^y 

12x 

16x 

20x 

24x 

28x 

32x 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  haa  baan  raproducad  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

D.B.  WaMon  Library 
Univariity  of  Waitarn  Ontario 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grica  i  la 
gtniroait*  da: 

D.B.  Waidon  Library 
Univartity  of  Wattarn  OnUrio 


Tha  imagas  appearing  hara  ara  ttia  ba«t  quality 
poasibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacificationa. 


Original  copiaa  in  printed  papar  covara  ara  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  laat  page  with  a  printed  or  illuatratad  imprea- 
aion.  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
otfier  original  copiaa  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
firat  pege  with  a  printed  or  llluatreted  imprea- 
aion,  and  ending  on  the  laat  page  with  e  printed 
or  illuatrated  impreaaion. 


Las  images  suivantas  ont  At*  reproduites  avec  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  da  la  condition  at 
de  la  natteti  da  I'axempleire  film*,  at  an 
eonformit*  avec  lea  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Lea  exemplairea  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sent  film*s  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  terminent  soit  par  la 
darniAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  emprsinte 
d'impreasion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plot,  selon  le  caa.  Tous  las  auties  exempiaires 
originaux  aont  filmia  an  commenfant  par  la 
premiere  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreasion  ou  d'illustration  at  en  terminent  par 
la  darniire  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  leat  recorded  freme  on  eech  microfiche 
ahail  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meening  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  ▼  (meening  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Mapa.  plates,  charta.  etc..  mey  be  filmed  et 
different  reduction  retios.  Those  too  lerge  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hend  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  es 
required.  The  following  diagrama  illustrate  the 
method: 


Un  des  symboles  suivsnts  appereltra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
ces:  le  symbols  ^»>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  csrtes.  plenches.  tsbleaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmis  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  ie  document  est  trop  grend  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmi  A  partir 
da  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  an  baa.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagea  nAceasaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illt     'ant  la  mithoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1  2  3 

4  5  6 


MiaiOCOPV    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0 


1.1 


Ui 


1^8 

136 

140 


2.5 

2.0 
1.8 


^  /APPLIED  liVMGE     Inc 

^Sr  1653   tast    Mam   Siceet 

r^  Rocheste-.    New    Tork         1*609        USA 

^^a  (716)   482  -  OiOO  -  Phone 

aa  (716)   288-  S989  -  Fqm 


I 


I 


ON    THE    BORDERS    OF 
PIGMY   LAND 


ON  THE  BOPvPERS 
OF  PIQiW  LANP 


BY 


RUTH    B.    FISHER 

{tU$  Hurditch) 


Niw  York,  Chicago,  Toronto  : 
FLEMING    H.   REVELL  COMPANY 
1905 


23119 


R     W.  SIUPSON  AND  CO.,  LTIX, 

PRINT  KRS, 

RICHMOND   AND  LONDON. 


PREFACE 


To  none  of  her  many  friends  in  England  and  Ireland 
does  the  writer  of  this  book,  whether  as  Miss  Ruth 
Hurditch  or  Mrs.  Fisher,  need  any  introduction ; 
but  I  gladly  accept  the  opportunity  offered  to  me 
of  commending  her  graphic  story  of  Mission  life  and 
work  to  a  still  wider  circle,  including  the  American 
Christian  public,  among  whom  we  are  assured  the  work 
will  find  ready  circulation. 

No  one  can   read    it  and  not   be  impressed  by    the 
evidence  with  which  it  abounds  that  the  same  Gospel 
which  conquered  Europe,  civilized  or  barbarous,  in  ages 
past  is  as  potent  to-day  to  transform  the  most  degraded 
and  dormant  races  into  peoples  of  quick  intelligence  and 
spiritual    consciousness,   and    has    given     them     m     a 
marvellously  short  time  a  measure  of  self-respect,  a  sense 
of  the  dignity  of  labour,  and  a  devotion  to  the  welfare 
of  others,  not  always  found  in  Christian  lands  or  even 
Churches  of  ancient  fame.     At  a  time  when  the  jaded 
faith  of  many  at  home  is  giving  way  before  the  mcessant 
undermining  of  the  old  foundations,  and  when  we  are 
invited  to  recast  the  "  details  "  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  no 
small  thing  that  the  Bible  is  seen  to  be  makmg  new 
history  again,  and  giving  fresh  evidences  of  its  divine 
vitality.      The  Mission  Field  is  paying  back  its  debt  to 
the  Church  at  home.    Africa,  emerging  from  the  night  of 
ages,  is  bringing  her  treasures  of  grace  to  make  up  the 
•'  fulness  of  the  Gentiles."     The  pigmies  themselves  are 
worthy  of  a  better  lot  than   to  be  carried    off   by    a 
traveller  and  be  made  a  show  for  the  sordid  curiosity 
of  holiday  crowds. 


I 


Preface 

There  are  other  reasons  also  why  we  welcome  Mrs. 
Fisher's  journals.  She  has  drawn  with  her  pen  pictures 
of  the  country  and  people  as  lifelike  as  the  excellent 
photographs  which  adorn  the  book.  She  has  enabled  us 
to  share  her  adventures  without  the  discomforts.  The 
tropical  storms  and  glaring  sunshine,  the  swamps  of 
Semliki,  and  the  snow  peaks  of  Ruwenzori,  the  camps 
and  caravans,  the  dispensary  and  the  school,  the  good 
King  and  the  gentle  Queen,  the  Prime  Minister  and  poor 
Blasiyo  the  pigmy  are  all  as  real  to  us  as  though  we  had 
seen  them  and  known  them  ourselves. 

Mrs.  Fisher  has  shown  us  how  a  devoted  couple  whose 
hearts  are  filled  with  a  longing  to  win  souls  for  the 
Saviour  can  face  dangers,  and  cut  themselves  off  from  the 
common  comforts  of  home,  not  only  with  patience  but 
with  cheerfulness.  No  one  will  feel  the  playfulness  and 
the  sense  of  humour  with  which  she  often  describes  the 
most  trying  situations  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  more 
serious  purpose  of  her  Missionary  life,  or  to  unfit  her  for  the 
gracious  ministry  of  comforting  the  sorrowful,  teaching 
the  ignorant,  and  healing  the  sick,  in  which  she  has  been 
engaged. 

If  each  reader  of  these  pages  will  let  them  raise  before 
the  conscience  such  questions  as  these,  "  What  have  / 
done,  and  what  can  /  do  to  help  such  blessed  work  "  or 
"  Why  should  /  not  follow  in  such  steps  myself,"  and  if 
such  questions  be  honestly  answered  as  in  the  presence  of 
the  Lord,  I  cannot  doubt  that  results  still  more  wonder- 
ful than  those  which  this  book  describes  will  find  a  record 
in  the  near  future, — that  may  be  even  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord. 

May  the  Holy  Spirit  moving  in  many  lives  bring  this 
to  pass. 

H.  E.  FOX, 

Hon.  Sec,  C.^'.S. 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTSR' 
I. 


A  Journey   on   the    Uganda  Railroad  Four 
Years  Acwi      .  •  •  • 


II. 
III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 
XVII. 


XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 


On  Land  and  Lake     .  •  •  • 

Menoo,  Uganda    .  .  •  • 

TORO,    THE    LAND    OF    THE    MOUNTAINS    OF  THE 
MOON  .  •  •  •  • 

The  Country        .  •  •  * 

Home  Life     .  •  •  •  * 

ROYAL  Life  •  •  •  * 

The  Women  of  Toro 

Child  Life  •  •  •  * 

Religion        .  •  •  *  * 

Language  .  •  •  * 

Festivities  in  Toro 

Tramp  I.    To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake  . 

Tramp  II.    Holidays 

Tramp  III.      Tramp   through    the    Four 


Kingdoms  of  the  Protectorate 
Tramp  IV.  Towards  the  Pigmies 
IN    Darkest  Africa.     The   Pigmies    (Batwa) 

and  their  (Bambuba)  Neighbours 

A  Climb  to  the  Snows    . 
Missionary  Work      .  •  •  • 

Medical  Work 

Scholastic  Work      .  .  •  • 

vii 


I 
II 

31 

41 

50 

59 

69 

79 

84 

92 

97 
106 
119 

128 
151 

161 

'73 
188 

»99 
211 


I  ? 


2 


■■^ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Group  of  Baganda. 

A  Group  of  Masais. 

A  Group  of  Pigmy  Women. 

A  MuBiRA  Lady  :  An  Afternoon  caller. 

A  Nandi  Family. 

A  Native  of  Bulega  :  The  First  to  be  Baptised  of  his  Race. 

A  Peep  at  the  Snows. 

Apolo  Kivebulaya. 

A  School  in  Toro. 

A  Viaduct  on  the  Uganda  Railroad. 

Back  from  the  Snows  :  Bakongo  Porters. 

Blasiyo  :  First  Bapiised  Pigmy. 

Crossing  the  Muluku  River. 

KicucEi  Camp. 

King  Dandi  Kasav,ama  of  Toro  and  his  Chiefs. 

Muluku  Glacier. 

New  Church,  Kabarole  Toro. 

Our  Home  in  Toro. 

Port  of  Mombasa. 

Snow  Peaks. 

Stiff  Climbing  :   A  Climb  to  the  Snows. 

Tabala,  Chief  of  Mbogo,  and  Suite. 

The  Albert  Edward  Lake. 

The  Baambas:  Nearest  Neighbours  to  the     igmie£ 

The  Bahuku  :  Cannibal  Race. 

The  Bakonga  at  Home. 

The  Batoro  at  Home. 

The  Four  Pigmies  at  Kabarole. 

The  Kidong  Escarpment. 

The  Market  Place. 

The  New  Boat  on  Victoria  Nyanza. 

The  Sewlika  River. 


li 


■  ^ 

^ 


CHAPTER  I 

A  Journey  on  the  Uganda  Railroad 
Four  Years  Ago 

I  T  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  igoo  that  a  British 

1  India  steamer  cast  anchor  and  set  down  on  African 
soil  a  party  of  seven  missionaries  bound  for  distant 
Uganda.  Six  of  that  number  might  be  termed  "  freshers," 
for  they  were  complete  strangers  to  the  "dark  continent," 
and  absolutely  uninitiated  in  the  art  of  African  travelling. 
It  is  a  little  difficult  to  define  the  feelings  of  a  new  arrival 
who  has  before  him  or  her  the  prospect  of  life  and  work 
in  that  country.  The  memories  of  magnificent  lives  laid 
down  for  its  people  fill  the  heart  with  an  inten-ely  solemn 
sense  of  responsibility  and  dignity ;  records  of  ^-avel  and 
adventure  kindle  a  love  of  daring,  and  a  desire  for  oppor- 
tunities of  heroism;  while  the  meagre  knowledge  that 
exists  on  the  interior  districts  breaks  the  imagination  of 
the  traveller  away  from  its  leading  strir.gs. 

The  port  of  British  East  Africa— the  Island  of  Mombasa 
—is  a  typical  foreign  mercantile  coast  town,  with  its 
medley  of  craft,  ships,  yachts,  tugs,  boats  and  canoes 
manned  by  seamen  of  various  nationalities,  pushing, 
hustling  and  screaming  in  all  the  tongues  of  Babel.  The 
handsome  old  Arab  fortress  that  stands  on  its  jagged 
rocky  prominence  as  a  sentinel  at  the  entrance  of  the 
harbour,  takes  one  back  to  the  time  before  the  port  v/as 
taken  over  by  the  British,  and  when  it  was  used  by  those 
who  had  carried  on  the  terrible  slave  traffic    in    the 

I 


CD 

5 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

interior.  A  little  to  the  left  i,  to  be  seen  the  British 
Consulate  with  .ts  Union  Jack  fluttering  from  the  m^ 
as  the  emblem  of  liberty  and  justice  to  all  who  come 
under  its  jurisdiction. 

As  we  stepped  from  the  ship's  deck  on  to  the  landing- 
stage  the  sun  felt  distinctly  African.  The  dazzling  white 
and  somewhat  congested  streets  seemed  to  singe  our  very 
boot  leather.  It  was  a  relief  to  have  pointed  out  a  stri^ 
of  bright  green  mainland  which  lay  at  the  extreme  end  of 
a  sheltered  bay.  as  the  place  where  hospitality  would  be 
offered  me  and  two  others  of  our  party  of  seven,  while 
preparations  were  being  made  for  our  journey  up  country 

ru  u^'J^"^'  '■°"^^*  "'  *°  ^^'''  '"•^='°"  station  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society-Freretown-the  situation  of 
which  is  very  pleasing;  in  front  stretches  the  transparent 
blue  bay  beyond  to  the  right  the  white  minarets  and  red 
tiled  roofs  of  Mombasa,  and  all  around  dense  foliage- 
mango  and  banana  trees,  creepers  and  shrubs  and  flowers 
m  tangled  confusion.  A  warm  English  welcome  awaited 
us  from  our  missionary  friends  there  who  were  domiciled 
m  a  solid  two-storied  brick  house. 

The  guest  room  delegated  to"  me  was  evidently  an 
afterthought,  as  ,t  was  constructed  of  corrugated  iron 
with  plaited  grass  stretched  across  for  a  ceiling.  The  room 
opened  out  on  a  broad  balcony,  and  as  it  is  the  custom 
to  leave  open  the  doors  at  night  to  catch  the  least  sus- 
r  -ion  of  a  breeze  that  might  blow  in  across  the  bay  the 
bats  and  rat.  made  free  use  of  my  room  until  daybreak. 
The  first  night  I  found  the  rats  had  shewed  an  appreciative 
appetite  for  Cadbury's  chocolate,  for  they  completely 
finished  off  my  half-pound  tin  which  had  been  tusselled 
lor  at  a  chess  tournament  on  board  ship. 

c.  ^^V/"; w'^  ^"'"^  "P  '=°""*'"y  ^^'^  ^'""^Sht  many  half- 
starved  folk  to  the  coast.    Bishop  Peel  had  sent  down  some 
30  to  40  giris  and  boys  from  the  Wanika  tribe  to  be  clothed 
fed,  and  cared  for  at  the  mission  dormitory.    Starvation 

2 


A  Journey  on  the  Uganda  Railroad 

had  played  frightful  havoc  with  them.  One  wee  babe  of 
about  two  years,  all  akin  and  bone,  had  had  her  hands  held 
in  the  fire  by  her  mother  because  hunger  bad  driven  her  to 
steal  a  banana.  Her  tiny  fingers  were  twisted  back  and 
much  distorted,  some  joints  having  entirely  gone.  Other 
child  jn  had  no  toes,' these  having  been  literally  eaten 
away  by  the  litt  ".  insects  known  as  jiggers,  which 
are  very  numerous  inland,  and  trouble  Europeans  as  well 

as  natives. 

On  Sunday  we  went  to  morning  service  n  the  splendid 
brick  native  church.    As  it  was  conducted  in  the  Swahili 
language  we  could  only  follow  in  silence  the  order  of  the 
liturgy.    The  church,  holding  about  500  people,  was 
almost  full.    Colours  were  very  pronounced  among  the 
women.    The  girls  were  dressed  in  white  gowns  with  red 
handkerchiefs  round  the  head;   but  the  elder  women 
adopted  the   most    remarkable    hues:    orange-coloured 
sashes  and  violet  head  gear  were  the  most  conspicuous. 
They  attended  very  devoutly,  and  as   I  knelt  at  the 
Communion  rails  with  a  native  woman  on  either  side, 
that  text  appealed  to  me  with  a  new  power  "  Other  sheep 
I  have    .    .    .    and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one 
Shepherd."    In  the  afternoon  I  delivered  my  first  message 
to  Africans.    I  had  been  asked  to  speak  through  inter- 
pretation to  a  class  of  women ;  it  was  not  easy  to  stand 
up  before  one's  first  audience  of  dusky  faces  and  to  try 
and  adapt  the  message  to  their  minds— an  unexplored 
land  as  yet  to  me— to  choose  carefully  words  which 
would  lend  themselves  to  interpretation  and  to  recollect 
the  point  stopped  at  between  the  sentences. 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  we  all  met  in  the  office 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  agency.  Before  us 
were  arrayed  a  dozen  Swahili  lads  who  were  coming  up 
country  with  us  to  act  as  our  personal  attendants.  Each 
of  us  was  to  be  allowed  the  sole  Service  of  one,  the  half  of 
another,  and  a  quarter  of  another ;  that  is,  one  boy  iras 


On  the  Borders  of  Plgmj  Land 


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p\ 


1$ 


to  act  ai  housemaid,  two  of  us  would  share  a  cook,  and 
four  a  cook's  mate.  Minute  instructions  were  ipven  at 
as  to  travelling  arrangements,  which  resulted  in,  for  one 
thing,  the  re-adjusting  of  every  one  of  our  loads  that 
weighed  anything  over  65  lbs.  It  let  me  in  for  sohm 
days  of  arduous  labour.  If  it  had  not  been  for  my  newly 
acquired  "  housemaid  "  Richard,  who  had  attached  him< 
self  to  me  after  that  morning  in  the  office,  the  unpacking 
and  re-packing  would  have  proved  an  almost  hopeless 
task  in  such  melting  temperature.  The  last  load  nailed 
down  contained  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  groceries, 
Monkey  Brand  soap,  photos,  a  saucepan,  and  a  few 
garments,  all  of  which  had  been  taken  out  of  loads  of 
overweight.  Quite  unexpectedly  we  heard  that  our  start 
up  country  was  to  be  made  on  the  lifth  day  after  our 
arrival  at  the  coast.  A  breakdown  was  hinted  at  as  being 
likely  to  occur  on  the  railroad  on  account  of  the  heavy 
rains  that  had  fallen.  Apart  from  this  we  were  told  tLat 
the  train  would  accomplish  the  364  miles  of  its  journey 
in  one  day  and  night.  At  railhead  our  caravan  of  porters 
was  awaiting  us,  as  also  the  two  donkeys  and  two  jin* 
rickshas,  which  would  prove  essential  in  case  of  sickness 
on  the  road.  We  speedily  fixed  our  bicycles  up  on  hearing 
of  the  immediate  start  to  be  made,  which  seemed  to 
make  us  all  desperately  impatient  to  be  spinning  along 
the  African  roads  to  Uganda. 

On  February  23rd  we  left  Mombasa.  A  large  party  of 
missionaries  met  at  Freretown  Church  at  sight  o'clock 
for  united  Communion.  Then  we  hurried  down  to  the 
shore  where  a  boat  awaited  us  to  take  us  across  to  Pott 
Mombasa.  After  getting  together  all  handbags  and  other 
small  baggage  we  were  packed  away  in  a  ghari — a  tiny 
truck  for  four  persons,  with  shade,  run  on  rp.ils  along  the 
street.  A  curious  party  we  looked ;  three  gharis  left 
the  town,  boxes,  bags  and  rugs  heaped  up  in  a  pile,  a  few 
natives  scattered  about  here  and  there  among  us,  and 

4 


I'll 


A  Journey  on  the  Uganda  Railroad 

boys  pushing  behind.  These  vehicles  simply  fly  along 
when  going  downhill ;  one  box  toppled  over  in  one  of 
these  wild  escapades,  and  the  whole  contents  burst  out 
and  were  scattered  about  on  the  road.  Then  a  derailment 
of  one  ghari  necessitated  the  passengers  dismounting, 
land  the  cars  that  followed  in  the  wake  being  carried 
round  the  obstructing  car.  The  terminus  of  the  railway 
is  at  Kilindini,  which  lies  about  two  miles  outside 
Mombasa.  At  the  station  a  strange  scene  confronted  us. 
P  nle  from  various  countiies  were  rushing  about  in  a 
•taiu  J  great  excitement,  all  strugjling  to  crowd  into  the 
few  compartments  allotted  to  fourth  class  passengerb. 
They  were  so  jammed  together  that  one  could  only 
expect  to  see  the  carriages  burst  apart  with  the  pressure 
from  inside.  Our  compartments  were  ever  so  much 
better  than  I  had  expected ;  two  had  been  reserved  for 
our  party  of  seven.  Perhaps  some  of  us  were  a  little 
disappointed  that  there  was  no  "roughing  it,"  but  we 
tried  to  console  each  other  with  the  thought  that  there 
might  be  a  breakdown  on  the  line.  Our  feelings  can  be 
imagined  when  the  train  whi22ed  away  and  kept  up  a  most 
respectable  speed,  in  fact,  behaved  itself  like  a  civilized 
being.  We  had  armed  ourselves  with  plenty  of  provisions, 
but  found  that  good  meals  had  been  prepared  for  us  at 
various  long  halting  stations  on  the  route.  Wanting  to 
lighten  our  supplies,  however,  afternoon  tea  was  suggested, 
and  as  passengers  could  walk  from  one  compartment  to 
another  by  means  of  an  outside  foot-board,  even  though 
the  train  was  running,  we  invited  all  the  members  of  our 
party  in  to  a  social  tea.  My  canteen  was  produced  and 
effctts  were  made  to  boil  the  water,  but  the  train  was 
shaking  so  unreasonably  that  the  small  kettle  needed  to 
be  constantly  replenished  during  the  boiling.  We  had 
to  warn  our  guMts  to  avoid  the  streams  of  water  that 
were  running  down  the  carriage  from  tne  kettle  spout, 
but  the  last  arrival  made  a  dreadful  mistake  by  sitting  on 


CD 

I 

a. 


;:* 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

the  top  of  the  teapot  just  as  the  tea  was  made.  This 
was  not  discovered  until  the  whole  contents  were  upset 
and  the  offender  realized  a  scalding  sensation. 

The  first  day  on  the  Uganda  railroad  was  certainly  not 
the  most  enjoyable;  the  heat  was  stifling  and  the  dust  so 
obtrusive  that  in  spite  of  having  the  windows  closed,  in 
less  than  an  hour  everything  had  assumed  a  brownish-red 
appearance;  the  carriage  cushions,  our  clothing,  hair,  and 
eyes  were  full  of  it,  and  if  one  did  venture  to  open  the  lips 
to  pass  a  remark,  a  mouth-wash  was  necessary.  Mile  after 
mile  of  country  v/as  passed  where  the  grass  was  entirely 
burnt  up,  and  alm'«st  all  trees  and  shrubs  dried  and 
bleached.  The  land  was  in  the  grip  of  famine,  whose 
hand  of  death  had  touched  all  nature.  Some  of  its  last 
victims  dragged  their  exhausted  limbs  to  the  banks  of  the 
railroad  as  the  train  passed  through  their  land  of  hunger. 
Poor  wee  children,  theii  sharp  bones  standing  out  in  a 
most  ghastly  manner,  looked  like  skeletons  moving.  We 
gave  them  food  which  they  voraciously  seized,  but  alas, 
many  had  got  beyond  the  power  of  eating. 

Our  first  halting  place  was  Voi,  which  we  reached  at 
seven  p.m.,  after  a  run  of  eight  hours.  As  the  train  was 
not  leaving  again  till  eleven  o'clock  we  were  allowed  time 
for  a  short  rest  after  dining  at  the  station  bungalow. 
Native  couches  of  woven  grass  stretched  over  wooden 
frames  were  given  to  us,  but  the  need  of  mosquito  nets 
and  blankets  drove  all  ideas  of  sleep  away.  The  next 
morning  we  found  the  scenery  had  entirely  changed;  vast 
stretches  of  plain  and  gently  undulating  country  extended 
for  miles  on  either  side.  This  district,  known  as  the  Athi 
plain,  is  thickly  populated  with  all  sorts  of  wild  animals. 
There  were  scores  of  antelopes,  zebras,  and  ostriches.  The 
tracks  of  lions  were  pointed  out  to  us,  but  these  are  the 
only  animals  that  apparently  do  not  venture  near  the 
trains  in  broad  daylight. 

Nairobi,  which  has  been  named  the  "tin-town"  on 


A  Journey  on  the  Uganda  Railroad 

account  of  all  the  buildings  being  composed  of  corrugated 
.inc.  is  quite  an  important  place.    It  is  one  of  the  head- 
quai^ers  and  workshops  of  the  railway  company,  and  a 
large  and  rapidly  increasing  European,  Indian,  and  Arab 
population  has  settled  here.    From  this  pomt  we  had  to 
take  up  our  porters,  and  this  was  not  an  easy  matter. 
Instead  of  the  300  or  so  required,  only  about  150  were 
procurable  to  carry  all  our  loads  of  food  supplies,  clothmg 
and  household  requisites  for  the  road  and  our  destmation 
besides  various  other  boxes  and  literature  for  missionaries 
and  mission  work  in  Uganda. 

After  leaving  Nairobi  another  complete  contrast  opened 
out  before  us.     Dense  thickets,  forests  and  pngle  covered 
hill  and  dale,  without  a  sign  of  human  life.    Truly  tne 
world  seemed  here  as  in  infancy,  and  the  railway  a  harsh 
discord  of  civilization.     It  is  a  rest  to  the  mind  and  soid 
to  pass  through  these  world's  natural  parks;  the  deep  long 
silence,  unreached  by  man's  babble,  carries  m  its  aar  a 
breeze  from  Home  and  one's  whole  inward  being  rises  on 
the  wing  to  its  God.    I  wondered  why  such  miles  and 
mUerof  uninhabited  land  existed  when  "He  created  i 
nol "vain,  "a  formed  it  to  be  inhabited."    Was  it  that 
He  might  give  us  "the  treasures  of  darkness  and  hidden 
riches  of  secret  places"  which  God  deposits  m  regions 
where,  untrammelled  by  the  footprints  (not  the  resul  ^ 
of  sin    the  Shekinah  dwells  revealed  in  such  natural 

'^On^Sunday  at  two  p.m.,  we  found  ourselves  at  rail- 
head.  The  train  before  ours  had  been  derailed  several 
times  on  account  of  the  heavy  rains  washing  down  the 
new  embankments,  but  as  trains  only  run  once  a  week, 
repairs  had  been  temporarily  completed,  so  we  finished 
our  journey  without  a  single  mishap.  _ 

I  wish  you  could  have  seen  our  plight  as  we  arrived. 
To  begin  with,  even  in  the  finest  weather  the  country 
would  always  appear  somewhat  dreary;  nature  has  not 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

behaved  very  liberally.  The  train  drew  up  abruptly,  not 
because  of  its  having  reached  a  station,  but  there  was  no 
more  line  on  which  to  run.  The  only  buildings  were  a 
few  tents  and  iron  sheds,  the  property  of  the  six  Europeans 
and  score  of  Indians  employed  on  the  construction  of  the 
railway.  The  whole  country  was  under  water,  and  the 
rains  were  sweeping  down  in  a  deluge.  Out  of  the 
waters  appeared  our  two  jinrickshas  and  a  few  boxes, 
and  these  indicated  the  spot  where  we  were  to  camp. 
Our  first  inclination  was  to  remain  in  the  train,  but  as 
that  had  to  return  at  once,  we  waded  out  and  about,  and 
did  not  quite  know  what  to  do  next.  Here  the  Europeans 
came  nobly  to  our  assistance  and  offered  the  ladies  shelter 
in  a  tent  called  the  post-office.  It  is  remarkable  what  a 
lot  it  takes  to  make  you  depressed  in  Africa.  In  England 
I  believe  most  of  us  would  have  felt  rather  despondent, 
but  none  of  us  confessed  to  those  feelings.  After  a 
cup  of  tea,  with  condensed  milk,  had  wanned  us  up,  we 
gave  a  right  good  British  cheer  as  a  tapping  at  the 
telegraph  wires  in  our  tea  room  told  us  of  a  splendid 
British  victory  at  the  seat  of  war. 

Towards  evening  the  rain  ceased  and  as  the  ground 
was  well  digged  round  with  trenches  the  water  quickly 
drained  off,  so  our  tents  were  unpacked  and  erected.  The 
railway  officials  kindly  supplied  us  with  a  number  of 
solid  planks,  which  formed  a  firm  flooring  over  the  mud. 

The  tents  looked  so  warm  and  bright  in  the  midst  of 
such  grey  surroundings.  Camping  out  was  quite  a  new 
experience  to  most  of  us  and  we  immensely  enjoyed 
moving  in  to  our  new  quarters.  When  we  had  got 
straight  the  whole  party  came  together  in  our  tent, 
squeezed  round  the  tiny  table,  and  we  had  a  thanksgiving 
service.  Through  the  goodness  of  God,  things  had 
marvellously  adjusted  themselves,  considering  the  short 
time  and  the  swamped  condition  of  the  country.  We  all 
sang  the  Te  Deum  till  our  little  tent  rang  with  voices. 


^M 


u 


A  Journey  on  the  Uganda  Railroad 

As  we  joined  in  the  general  thanksgiving  and  prayers 
I  can  trulv  say  that  no  more  heartfelt  pra.se  ascended 
into  the  courts  of  Heaven  from  any  temple  that  Sunday 
evening,  than  from  our  little  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness. 
Outsike.  darkness  reigned,  except  for  the  porters 
fires,  burning  in  every  direction,  with  the  black  figures 
squatting  round,  which  gave  the  whole  scene  a  weird  and 
fantastic  appearance.  ,      ,  j       *  r„. 

The  next  morning  all  our  loads  were  hauled  out  for 
inspection,  and  owing  to  the  lack  of  porters  we   were 
obliged  to  choose  out  such  as  would  be  required  for  more 
immediate  use ;  the  remaining  boxes  had  to  be  stacked  in 
a  rather  too  well  ventilated  shed  to  await  reinforcements 
of  porters.    This  particular  district   was  in    rather    a 
disturbed  condition.     The  day  before  we  had  arrived 
some  natives  fired  upon  a  European  and  killed  him  .  m 
consequence  a  small  detachment  of  soldiers  had  been  sent 
out  to  see  into  matters  and  had  shot  two  natives.    We 
were  warned  at  night  to  have  our  camp  carefully  guarded 
by  askaris,*  as  thieves  were  about  in  addition  to  any  un- 
friendly folk  who  might  be  prowling  round.  So  a  fire  was 
lit  just  outside  our  tents,  and  sentries  stationed  at  close 
distances.    They  accosted  every  passer-by  m  angry  tones^ 
and  those  who  did  not  use  the  password     friend     stood 
a  very  poor  chance  of  getting  off.  .i,»«^»r 

As  we  stood  round  the  log-fire  at  evening,  the  thunder 
and  lightning  roared  and  flashed;  and  then  down  came 
the  rain  and  pelted  hard  all  night.  One  ot  the  tents  was 
quite  flooded ;  the  bed  and  furniture  were  rescued  and  the 
occupant  moved  into  another's  tent  pitched  on  slightly 
higher  ground.  We  had  arrived  in  the  raany  season  and 
were  told  that  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  we  got  a  daily 
soaking.  It  rather  damped  one's  enthusiasm  for  camping 
out  and  cycling.  This  district  is  called  the  Kxdong 
Escarpment,  and  is  a  ledge  of  land  that  suddenly  drops 
♦  Native  guaixis  or  soldiers. 
9 


I  i 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 


i  ! 


'i.  ■ 


some  500  feet.  The  railway  takes  a  circuitous  route  to 
avoid  this  drop,  but  at  that  time  a  most  elaborate 
temporary  line  had  been  laid  down  the  precipitous  bank, 
the  cars  being  N.orked  by  cables.  One  had  here  an 
example  of  the  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  that 
faced  the  engineers  of  the  Uganda  railway,  difficulties 
emphasised  by  the  fact  that  all  material  required  had  to 
be  imported  from  India  or  England.  Viaducts,  some  of 
which  are  of  gigantic  height,  frequently  connect  rock  to 
rock,  and  along  these  the  train  has  cautiously  to  pass. 
At  other  times  the  brave  little  locomotive  pants  and 
gasps  as  it  toils  along  with  its  burden  ;  now  and  again  it 
stops  to  gain  breath,  then  it  goes  on  again,  climbing,  ever 
climbing,  till  it  has  reached  an  altitude  of  7,000  feet. 

After  the  burning  heat  of  the  dusty  plains,  along  which 
the  train  rushes  with  hysterical  speed,  tilling  the  traveller 
with  misgivings  and  treating  him  to  plenty  of  rough 
shakings,  how  welcome  is  the  cold  frosty  air  of  these 
African  Highlands,  which  have  proved  no  barrier  to  the 
Uganda  railroad. 


10 


I 


»i'' 


!i  r 


5^31 


CHAPTER  II 
On  Land  and  Lake 


WE  certainly  set  off  for  our  first  so-called  tramp  most 
professionally  fitted  out,  but  this  only  lasted  for 
one  day.  The  marching  Norfolk  dress  was  soon 
discarded  for  a  loose  blouse;  the  water  bottle, 
which  did  give  one  rather  a  heroic  aspect,  was  quietly 
given  over  to  the  "  boy  "  ;  that  wonderful  compendium  of 
knife,  corkscrew,  file,  button  hook,  and  so  forth,  which 
includes  everything  that  you  never  want  and  nothing  that 
you  do,  was  likewise  voted  too  heavy ;  even  the  puggaree 
that  had  offered  a  suggestion  of  trimming  to  the  very  un- 
becoming  bald  topee,  was  thrown  out,  and  any  considcra« 
tion  for  personal  appearance  that  might  have  secretly 
lurked  within  was  superseded  by  the  one  desire  for 
comfort,  as  we  steamed  along  on  our  bicycles  over  good, 
bad,  and  indifferent  roads,  the  sun  beating  down  upon  us 
all  the  time. 

Lake  Naivasha  seemed  scarcely  large  enough  to  satisfy 
our  inordinate  thirst  as  we  pulled  up ;  we  were  not  a  bit 
polite  when  tea  was  generously  doled  out  to  us  by  the 
Europeans  stationed  there,  for  none  of  us  refused  a  fourth 
and  fifth  cup,  even  when  we  saw  the  supply  was  running 
short.  I  got  very  behindhand  in  my  journal  while  on 
the  road.  Never  had  I  been  successful  in  keeping  one 
for  longer  than  a  week  ;  on  the  seventh  day  it  had 
become  so  intolerably  dull  that  Dryasdust  must  even 
have  yawned.  Of  course,  Africa  supplies  you  with 
plenty  of  material,  but  the  methodical   mind   and    will 

11 


I  33 


ill 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

power  are  somehow  wanting.  Let  me  tell  you  why.  At 
4.0  a.m.  daily  one  wakes  up  with  a  start,  for  as  the  sun 
does  not  rise  till  6.0,  night  still  seems  to  rest  heavily  on 
the  land  and  on  one's  eyelids.  But  the  caravan  leader  is 
beating  a  drum,  accompanying  it  with  a  shrill  falsetto 
call  to  rise ;  and  if  one  dares  to  stay  rubbing  the  sleep 
out  of  the  eyes,  the  porters  are  fumbling  away  at  the 
tent  ropes,  and  before  there  is  time  to  complete  one's 
toilette,  the  whole  tent  flops  down  like  a  closed  umbrella. 
A  truly  undignified  exit  is  made  by  a  dishevelled  figure, 
and  one  turns  up  while  breakfast  is  being  served  round 
the  camp  fir;  on  tin  crockery. 

In  the  dusk  we  push  off;  a  real  expert  rider  you  must 
be  to  dodge  in  and  out  of  the  porters  who  are  already 
filing  along  on  the  narrow  path,  and  have  a  happy  knack 
of  swinging  round  at  the  sound  of  the  bicycle  bell  just 
as  you  pass — the  tent-pole  carrier  was  a  veritable  man- 
trap, and  more  than  once  pitched  machine  and  rider  into 
the  ditch.  I  am  sure  I  shall  never  complain  again  of 
English  or  even  Scotch  roads ;  the  ridges  we  have  ridden 
over  (often  ending  in  a  swamp)  have  helped  to  strengthen 
one's  nerves  and  powers  of  balance.  We  generally  reach 
camp  before  our  porters,  and  then  seek  out  some  shelter 
till  our  tents  arrive.  It  is  a  quaint  sight  to  watch  the 
long  line  of  the  caravan  coming  in ;  the  men  become  very 
excited  at  sight  of  the  halting  place,  and  as  the  first  man 
who  carries  a  drum  beats  it  with  all  his  might,  swinging  a 
zebra  tail  round  and  round  his  head,  the  men  all  break 
into  song  and  a  slow  dance,  which  gradually  increases  in 
volume  and  speed  until  the  651b.  box  on  the  head  is 
quite  forgotten,  the  body  springs  about  in  mid-air,  and 
finally  throws  itself  down  with  a  shout  of  ecstasy  and  an 
eloquent  outburst  of  self-praise  and  congratulation 

When  tents  have  been  pitched  and  bodily  restoratives 
have  been  applied  in  the  form  of  cool  baths,  a  good  meal 
and  a  sleep,  the  only  possible  hour  for  joumalling  has 

12 


i 


t 


o 


On  Land  and  Lake 


come.  But  who  could  resist  the  desire  to  peep  outside 
the  tent  door,  and  then  into  the  new  and  fascinating 
features  of  folk,  animals,  birds,  and  country  that  surround 
the  colony  of  tents  ?  So  my  pen  rem  lincd  idle  for  many 
days  on  the  road,  and  as  we  were  constantly  going 
forward,  it  was  not  easy  to  go  back  and  pick  up  broken 
threads. 

The  day  from  Lake  Nakuro  must  have  a  few  lines  to 
itself.     The    usual    15    miles'    journey    had     appeared 
exceptionally  short  on  account  of  the  good  roads,  and 
there  being  no  houses  or  even  signboard  to  tell  you  "  this 
is  camp,"  we  rode  past  it  unconsciously.     While  resting 
mid-day  on  the  banks  of  a  shady  nook  for  a  cup  of  tea  and 
biscuits,  two  bicycles  unfortunately  fell  over  on  my  gear 
case  and  completely  smashed  it  up.     This  made  riding  a 
little  difficult  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  as  the  skirt 
would  keep  catching  in  the  chain,   and  the   gear-case 
strapped  across  the  handle-bars  did  not  allow  much  knee 
space.     Very  hot,  dusty,  hungry,  and  tired  at  3.30  p.m., 
we  came  across  a  small  Indian  encampment  which  had 
journeyed  up  country  for  railway  survey  with  a  large 
number  of  pack  mules.     The  campers  told  us  we  had  come 
34  miles.      This  rather  alarmed  us,  for  we  wondered  how 
our  porters  could  cover  that  distance.     It  was  a  ghastly 
spot.     The  ground  was  strewn  with  numbers  of  bleached 
skulls  and  bones,  which  we  afterwards  learned  were  part 
of  an  Indian  troop  that  some  time  previously  had  travelled 
down  country  under  Mr.  Grant,  and  had  died  for  want  of 
water. 

After  waiting  some  time  scouts  were  sent  out  to 
search  for  our  men,  but  as  night  fell  they  returned  with 
the  tidings  that  our  caravan  was  camped  some  15  miles 
away,  and  was  too  exhausted  to  push  on.  Having  eaten 
nothing  since  4  o'clock  a.m.,  with  the  exception  of  that 
nid-day  impromptu  lunch,  I  must  confess  that  our  first 
consideration  was  for  food.    Fortunately  one  of  our  party 

13 


i  w 


i  ■  i  !  P 


t,  'tit 


i     ';- 


»■ 


1 

1 

^ 

I ' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

had  shot  during  the  day  a  bustard.  This  was  speedily 
prepared  and  cooked  in  a  pot  lent  us  by  the  Indians.  A 
few  biscuits  and  some  tea  still  remained  in  our  canteen, 
and  so  sitting  round  an  ember  fire  inside  the  stockade 
constructed  for  the  mules  as  protection  from  the  lions, 
we  enjoyed,  perhaps  as  never  before,  a  hearty,  simple 
and  crude  meal,  without  chairs,  spoons,  forks,  or  even 
chop-sticks.  We  tried  to  effect  further  loans,  and  through 
the  generosity  of  our  new  friends  succeeded  in  procuring 
one  small  tent  for  the  night.  It  was  small,  6  feet  square, 
and  we  five  ladies  had  to  pack  into  it.  We  did  manage 
it  by  strictly  adhering  to  the  agreement  of  sleeping  on 
one's  side  and  not  attempting  to  change  over.  There 
were  no  blankets,  but  certainly  none  of  us  felt  the  need 
of  them !  The  gentlemen  kept  guard  round  the 
watch  fires  all  night,  but  I  think  they  got  in  more 
sleep  than  we  did. 

In  case  such  a  thing  should  ever  happen  again,  the  men 
of  our  party  were  evidently  determined  to  be  prepared, 
for  on  the  following  afternoon  we  saw  them  shouldering 
their  guns,  and  after  hearing  a  few  distant  sounds  of  shot, 
two  zebras  and  three  antelopes  were  carried  into  camp ; 
and  before  we  had  finished  admiring  and  pitying  these 
splendid  fallen  lords  of  the  country,  they  were  carried  off 
and  skinned.  The  next  sight  we  caught  of  them  was 
in  the  form  of  long,  gory  strips  festooned  from  branch 
to  branch  of  a  tree  close  by.  The  porters,  hawk-like, 
were  standing  round,  as  hungry  East  Enders  outside 
fried  fish  bars.  Perhaps  they  can  be  partially  excused 
when  we  consider  the  monotonous,  unpalatable  millet 
which  constitutes  their  daily  diet.  At  7  p.m.  a 
drum  was  beaten,  and  every  man  presented  him- 
self in  as  famished  a  condition  as  he  could  assume. 
They  stood  like  soldiers  waiting  to  be  decorated  with  the 
V.C.  In  a  few  minutes  the  tree  was  quite  cleared,  and 
outside  each  tiny  tent  was  fixed  on  sticks  venison  and 

14 


.  i,;il 


II 


l\ 


M 


ii 


On  Land  and  Lake 


wild  beef  roasting  over  the  fires.  The  sounds  of  revelry 
had  scarcely  died  away  vhen  the  morning  call  drum 
sounded . 

The  people  who  live  in  the  district  through  which  we 
had  hitherto  passed  are  called  the  Masai  tribe,  a  nomadic 
loik  who  travel  about  from  one  p?  ■•"e  to  another,  accord- 
ing to  the  pasture  the  land  offers  for  their  goats  and 
sheep.  They  have  distinctly  warlike  propensities,  and  a 
warrior  chief  is  often  met  having  a  few  armed  followers, 
who,  like  their  master,  smear  their  bodies  with  grease 
and  red  earth,  only  wearing  a  small  strip  of  cloth,  or  an 
animal's  skin  over  the  shoulder,  and  sometimes  a  few 
feathers  in  their  matted  and  oiled  hair.  The  fierce 
opposition  they  showed  to  the  pioneer  Missionarie-  is  now 
no  longer  displayed ;  in  fact  they  appear  somewh>  .  timid 
and  reserved. 

The  general  physical  feature  of  the  land  is  soft,  gently 
undulating  country.  But  for  the  lakes  Naivasha  and 
Nakuro,  and  the  River  Gilgal,  there  is  a  marked  scarcity 
of  water.  Not  until  we  reached  the  Tldoma  Ravine  did 
we  pass  anything  worthy  of  being  called  a  forest.  At  that 
point  we  had  risen  7,000  feet  above  sea  level,  and  exquisite 
stretches  of  tangled  forests  of  cedars  and  bamboos 
afforded  a  welcome  relief  after  the  dried  up  and  treeless 
track  we  had  been  accustomed  to.  Cycling  was  quite 
impossible  owing  to  the  many  trees  that  had  fallen  across 
the  road,  and  the  deep  ruts  made  by  the  ox  waggons 
which  had  passed  along  in  the  wet  season ;  one  waggon, 
carrying  along  parts  of  a  new  boat  to  be  floated  on  the 
Victoria  Nyanza,  was  overthrown  and  broken  up  by  one 
of  these  ruts  the  day  we  passed  through  the  forest. 

In  spite  of  the  weariness  that  often  overcomes  one 
travelling  day  after  day  under  such  a  fierce  sun,  how  glad 
I  am  that  the  railway  had  left  us  300  miles  of  tramping 
before  we  reached  the  lake!  Those  who  come  up  country 
the  railroad  is  completed  will  never  experience 

15 


now 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

the  fondness,  and  shall  I  call  it  proprietorship,  that  one 
seems  to  feel  for  the  land  when  each  step  has  involved 
labour,  every  little  change   from   the  prairie  grass  and 
thorn  bushes  been  noticed  and  welcomed,  and  each  new 
district  and  tribe  prayed  and  longed  over  to  be  claimed 
for  Christ.     How  can  I  describe  the  scene  that  stretched 
before  me  as  I  stood  on  the  Nandi  plateau  overlooking 
the  tranquil  silver  lake,  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  lying  3,000ft. 
below.     The  sun  was  slowly  sinking  towards  the  west, 
and,  as  it  did  so,  drew  the  attention  to  the  other  side,  our 
land  of  promise,  Uganda.     As  the  distant  horizon  and 
sky  were  flooded  with  a   gentle  red  and  golden  light, 
salvation  and  victory  seemed  written  in  the  handwriting 
of  God  upon  the  walls  of  that  country. 

Turning  round  towards  camp  what  a  contrast  the  scene 
presented.       Hundreds    of    natives     had    congregated 
together  dressed    in  animals'  skins,    and    armed    with 
shields  and  spears,  which  they  were  flourishing  in  the  air 
with  wild  dancing  and  shrill  war  song — they  were  going 
out  to  fight  with  a  neighbouring  tribe.      In  the  morning 
I  had  had  an  undesirable  encounter  with  some  of  them. 
Having  taken  my  writing  case  and  pocket  Bible  to  a  hill 
a  short  distance  away  from  where  we  were  encamped  to 
get  a  view  of  the  wonderful  panorama  of  plain  and  lake 
beneath,  I  had  been  somewhat  startled  by  a  number  of 
men  suddenly  appearing  from  what   at  first  were  quite 
undistinguishable  grass  huts.     Void  of  clothing  they  had 
painted  their  bodies  with   bright  red   earth,    and   nad 
made  various  designs  with  grease  on  their  limbs.    Their 
hair  was  long  and  twisted  into  streaks  by  means  of  goat's 
fat,  and  eich  man  carried  a  spear  and  shield.      Soon  a 
small  crowd  had  gathered  round,  and  I  must  confess  to  a 
certain  feeling  of   uneasiness    at  the    isolation    of   my 
position.     However,  I  determined  to  evince  no  fear  and 
tried  to  make  the  best  of  it.      I  undid  my  writing-case 
and  showed  it  to  them,  and  my  watch.      They  literally 

16 


s 

:3 


■a 


>< 

< 


a 

2 
< 


1 

I 

I 


On  Land  and  Lake 


shrieked  with  delight  and  surprise  when  they  saw  the 
hands  run  round.  The  gilt  edges  of  ray  Bible  attracted 
them,  so  handling  it  reverently  I  tried  to  tell  them  it  was 
God's  Book,  and  drawing  one  of  the  children  to  me  by 
signs,  sought  to  convey  to  their  minds  that  God  loved  us. 
I  do  not  know  if  they  caught  my  meaning,  but  I  do  know 
that  God  caught  up  the  prayers  that  ascended  for  them. 

The  same  evening  a  viole  .:t  storm  broke  over  us.  One 
of  our  tents  was  literally  washed  out,  not  having  had  a 
deep  ditch  digged  round  in  case  of  emergency. 

After  moving  off  again  and  descending  very  pre- 
cipitately to  the  level  of  the  lake,  the  heavy  rains  were 
found  to  have  made  marching  exceedingly  difficult.  We 
had  to  plough  through  thick  black  mud  till  we  reached 
Port  Florence,  a  distance  of  twenty-one  miles.  At  one 
point  on  the  road  a  stream  about  thirty  yards  wide  had  to 
be  waded,  as  our  porters  were  unavailable  for  carrying, 
having  all  gone  on  in  front.  The  water  in  some  parts 
was  a  foot  deep,  and  it  was  by  no  means  an  easy  thing 
getting  through  it  when  there  were  inches  of  mud  from 
which  thf»  boots  very  reluctantly  parted. 

News  had  reached  us  that  the  steamboat  Ruwenzori 
which  had  been  sent  to  meet  us  and  take  us  across  the 
lake  had  been  wrecked  on  the  way,  so  we  had  to  put  off  in 
an  Arab  dhow,  a  sailing  boat  used  for  transport  purposes 
only,  and  one  that  offered  no  passenger  accommodation. 

Three  thousand  square  miles !  Can  you  imagine  a 
lake  about  that  size  ?  And  yet  on  our  maps  it  is  no  larger 
than  a  boot  button.  Quiet  and  peaceful  as  is  its  normal 
condition,  there  are  times  when  its  mighty  waters  are 
lashed  into  uncomfortable  anger,  and  casting  np  foaming 
crests  break  on  the  shore  with  the  force  and  roar  of  an 
ocean's  storm.  Abundant  in  its  resources,  it  can  afford 
to  be  generous  in  its  supplies ;  with  prodigality  it  pours 
its  fulness  into  its  off-spring,  so  that  distant  Egypt  sub- 
sists on  its  benevolence — the  Nile. 

17  « 


1  m 


m 


aHidumSm. 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Although  only  7  p.m.,  darkness  had  already  set  in  as 
we  made  our  way  down  to  the  rough  landing-stage  to  be 
shipped  for  Uganda.  The  dhow  looked  uncomfortably 
small  for  its  crew,  seven  English  passengers,  twelve 
"  boys,"  and  all  their  cargo.  It  could  not  get  up  to  the 
little  wooden  pier,  so  we  rowed  out  in  dug-out  canoes  by 
the  light  of  a  hand  lamp.  This  took  time,  and  it  was 
nearly  midnight  before  everything  was  on  board. 

A  small  portion  towards  the  stem  had  been  reserved 
to  our  use  for  sleeping,  feeding,  and  living  purposes.  One 
of  the  ground  sheets  of  the  tent  was  fixed  up  on  four  in- 
secure poles  to  form  an  awning  over  us. 

Our  sacks  containing  camp  beds  and  blankets  were 
placed  about  to  act  as  bolsters  as  we  lay  down  on  the 
bare  boards  in  the  vain  hope  of  sleeping.  But  they  were 
the  most  bony  bolsters  I  have  ever  known,  for  on  what- 
ever corner  you  took  up  your  position,  there  was  a  point 
of  the  bedstead  running  into  you.  We  were  all  glad 
when  a  sharp  breeze  sprang  up  in  the  early  morning,  and 
the  sails  that  had  been  nodding  all  night  braced  them- 
selves together  for  work. 

Mid-day  we  passed  a  small  island  which  is  inhabited  by 
fisher  folk.  They  trap  the  fish  by  means  of  baskets  with 
inverted  necks  like  a  safety  ink-pot.  Someone  suggested 
pulling  into  shore  in  a  canoe  that  was  passing  at  the 
time  for  the  purpose  of  buying  some  fish,  but  the  people 
had  misinterpreted  our  intentions  and  iad  armed  them- 
selves with  spears,  and  were  waiting  lor  us  entrenched 
behind  large  rocks.  So  it  was  decided  to  lunch  off  tinned 
sausages  that  day  !  Our  prospects  of  landing  and  enjoy- 
ing a  change  at  night  from  the  hard  boards  of  the  dhow 
were  shattered  by  the  captain  assuring  us  that  he  could  not 
possibly  waste  such  a  splendid  wind  as  was  blowing,  but 
must  push  on.  Accordingly,  mattresses  and  pillows  weie 
pulled  out  and  spread  on  the  deck,  so  that  our  couch  might 
be  a  trifle  more  comfortable  than  on  the  preceding  night. 

18 


^tum 


On  Land  and  Lake 


The  wind  did  blow,  and  the  dhow  pitched  to  and  fro 
like  the  tub  of  Diogenes.  He  must  have  been  a  better 
sailor  than  most  of  us  were,  else  he  could  never  have 
steered  his  craft. 

It  was  wonderful  how  the  food  was  cooked.  The 
Swahili  boys  are  prodigies,  and  can  somehow  manage 
under  any  condition.  Finding  a  large  iron  tray  they 
built  up  their  wood  fires  on  it  in  the  bow  of  the  boat 
and  with  the  usual  three  stones  they  boiled  their 
kettle,  saucepan  or  other  kitchen  requisites. 

The  scenery  round  the  snores  of  the  lake  is  exceedmgly 
pretty.  The  land  gently  slopes  upward.  Here  and  there 
a  belt  of  forest  stretches  down  to  the  water's  edge;  the 
grass  huts  huddled  together  in  small  communities  just 
appear  peeping  out  from  the  creeks  and  woods,  and  birds 
of  gorgeous  colours  fly  about  or  build  their  nests  in 
the  branches  overhanging  the  water's  edge. 

Oil  the  third  day  of  our  trip  we  were  becalmed,  and  it 
was  decided  to  land  on  an  island  for  the  night  so  that  we 
might  get  a  complete  change  of  toilet  and  rest.    There 
was  no  canoe  at  hand  to  take  us  ashore,  so  a  raft  was 
constructed  of  poles  and  two  large  Masai  hide  shields 
which  had  been  given  me  up  country.    We  crossed  over, 
two  by  two,  carefully  balanced  in  the  centre  of  the  raft, 
with    shoes    and    stockings   in   our   hands.    The   men 
managed  to  get  a  few  things  across,  but  the  raft  would 
not  bear  the  weight     f  the  tents.     A  ground  sheet  was 
once  more  utilized  by  tying  it  to  branches  of  trees  to  form 
a  covering  over  our  camp  and  beds  at  night.    Looking 
through  the  mosquito  net  I  saw  the  stars  peeping  down, 
and  the  fireflies  and  glow  worms  lighting  up  the  air  and 
shrubs,  and  heard  the  croaking  of  the  frogs  and  the  night 
bird  cooing  in  the  trees.     It  seemed  like  a  page  out  of 
childhood's  fairy  book. 

There  was  no  chance  of  getting  off  in  the  morning,  and 
we  made  a  tour  of  the  island.      It  chanced  to  be  the 

19 


ji,     ] 

I    1 


■  ■¥■ 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

one  on  which  the  Ruwenzori  had  been  wrecked.  The 
captain  and  his  native  crew  had  succeeded  in  getting 
safely  to  land,  but  were  in  a  sad  plight  without  shoes  and 
socks  and  provisions.  It  was  most  fortunate  our  party 
happened  to  have  lighted  on  that  particular  island,  and 
so  were  able  to  replenish  the  meagre  stores  of  these  ship- 
wrecked mariners.  The  natives  flocked  together  when 
they  heard  of  the  arrival  of  white  men,  and  begged  them 
to  shoot  the  hippopotami  that  had  been  destroying  their 
cultivation.  They  showed  us  round  their  village,  in  the 
centre  of  which  was  their  devil  temple.  The  head  priest 
alone  was  allowed  to  enter.  Round  the  courtyard  were 
placed  flat  and  upright  stone  slabs ;  these  were  the  seats 
of  the  priests,  who  sat  round  in  a  semi-circle  when  their 
head  priest  was  inside  invoking  the  evil  spirit.  The  only 
one  in  our  party  who  knew  their  language  spoke  to  them, 
and  they  all  united  in  asking  that  teachers  might  be  sent 
to  them  to  instruct  them  in  these  "  good  words."  Now 
there  '  io  need  to  send  to  them,  for  since  then  the  island 
has  bf  depopulated  by  the  sleeping  sickness.  Not  one 
inhabitant  remains— and  they  died  with  their  request 
unanswered ! 

On  the  morning  of  the  eighth  day  we  were  all  eagerly 
examining  the  fringe  of  land  lying  straight  ahead.  The 
opera  glasses  spied  out  a  few  dark  figures  moving  about 
close  to  the  landing  stage.  In  imagination  and  Pears' 
Soap  advertisements  I  had  often  seen  the  picture,  the 
blue,  transparent  water,  a  stretch  of  sandy  shore — the 
background  of  banana  trees  and  palms,  a  few  grass  huts, 
and  a  dark-skinned  figure  standing  out  in  bold  relief  with 
the  broad  smile  displaying  a  row  of  white  teeth. 
"  Otyano  Munange  "  (How  do  you  do,  my  friend  ?)  and  a 
prolonged  exchange  of  grunts  greeted  us  as  we  stepped 
from  the  dhow  on  to  the  shores  of  Port  Munyonyo. 

During  the  few  minutes  of  waiting  for  our  boxes  to  be 
unloaded  I  moved  toward  a  little  hut  from  which  the 

20 


in 


On  Land  and  Lake 

sound  of  voices  was  coming.  Peeping  in  at  the^^w  door- 
wav  I  saw  a  man  dressed  in  white  linen  (evidently  the 
head  of  the  household).  He  was  sitting,  readmg  aloud 
to  a  group  of  men  and  women  gathered  round  him.  1  ne 
Book  was  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

Surely  this  was  Uganda,  wh^  -.  the  people  who  sat  in 
darkness  have  seen  a  great  light.  It  is  wonderful  wha 
the  Bible  has  done  for  them.  Its  influence  penetrates 
the  entire  country,  and  its  very  utterances  are  the 
language  of  the  people.  Its  expressions  of  greeting  and 
farewell  are  used,  and  with  reverence. 

How  our  bicycles  did  run  away  with  us  over  those 
seven  miles  to  Mengo.  After  mounting  them,  we  were 
followed  by  numbers  of  natives,  and  from  every  direction 
they  came  out  of  their  shambas  to  greet  us.  falling  down 
on  their  knees  and  saying.  "  You  are  our  prayers,  thank 

^°0n  hearing  of  our  arrival,  our  missionary  friends  had 
all  started  off  to  greet  us.  They  described  it  as  a  little 
bit  of  England  to  see  seven  cyclists  coming  along  with  an 
impress  of  home  which  the  five  weeks'  knocking  about  had 
not  quite  obliterated.  The  first  one  to  meet  us  must 
have  been  guilty  of  scorching,  as  he  was  far  ahead  of  the 
others,  and  he  was  determined  to  give  us  a  real  taste  of 
Uganda  right  away,  for  he  produced  froni  his  pocket 
some  bananas  (shall  I  own  it.  rather  squashy)  wrapped 
up  in  a  newspaper ;  they  were  good  ! 

Next  came  along  a  mule,  bearing  towards  us  Bishop 
Tucker,  who  had  come  out  to  welcome  his  new  recruits. 
I  do  not  remember  quite  distinctly  the  other  faces,  for  we 
were  literally  hemmed  in  by  scores  of  excited  natives, 
hustling,  bustling,  clapping,  and  chattering,  seizing  our 
hands  and  thanking  us  for  having  come  so  far  to  them, 
while  tears  of  gratitude  glistened  on  some  of  their 
splendid,  intelligent,  brown  faces. 


21 


■A    i 


if' 


W^BtBHk 

m^ 

^Wm^^^P^M 

•    3*  .'  '  1  -"  'Eii 

m 

CHAPTER  III 
Mengo,  Uganda 


JUDGING   from  the  view  obtained  from  this,   the 
native  capital  of   Uganda,   Mengo,    the    country 
seems  composed  of  hills.    On  one  of  these  stands 
the  cathedral  and  missionaries'  houses,  and  the  splendid 
hospital,  then  just  ready  to  be  opened  (but  since  burnt 
down),  and   holding  fifty   io   sixty  beds.    The  Roman 
Catholic  Mission  commands  another  hill,  while  on  the 
highest  is  the  King's  palace.  The  head  man  of  the  district 
builds  at  the  top  of  each  hill,  and  his  dependents  live  round, 
their  site  being  determined  by  their  social  position.     The 
whole  district  is  densely  populated,  but  this  is  difficult  at 
first  to  see,  as  the  huts  harmonize  with  the  vegetation 
around,  or  are  hidden  by  the  large  banana  plantations 
that  surround  each    dwelling.      What    strikes    a    new 
arrival  are  the  very  wide,  well-made  roads  that  have  been 
cut  in  various  directions,  quite  a  novel  feature  for  Africa. 
Living    out    here   is    necessarily    very    simple.     The 
English  houses  then  resembled  bungalows  constructed  of 
poles  and  light,  long  reeds  sewn  together  by  means  of  a 
black  fibre:  two  layers  formed  the  walls,  with  dried  leaves 
stuffed  between,  the  roof  being  thatched  with  grass.  The 
floors  vvere  beaten  earth,  with  skins  or  grass  mats  thrown 
down  in  place   of  carpets.      There  were  only  outside 
doors,  pieces  of   terra  cotta  coloured  bark  cloth  being 
hung  as  curt'-*'s  between  the  inside   doorways.    The 
apertures  ma«:.  in  the  walls  for  windows  were  closed  in 


iOHai 


v\ 


n 


-Jb^u.. 


'  I 


MengOt  Uganda 


at  night  by  shutters  of  sewn  reeds.  The  rooms  looked 
distinctly  rural,  with  bookshelves,  wardrobes,  and 
cabinets  made  with  packing  cases  of  uniform  size 
stacked  one  upon  another.  A  few  native  curios  and 
chairs  placed  about  were  rather  more  useful  than 
ornamental. 

Each  missionary's  house  was  fitted  up  with  a  spare 
room,  but  visitois  were  expected  to  bring  their  own 
furniture  and  attendants,  even  though  it  might  be  but  a 
Saturday  till  Monday  visit.  If  you  were  not  a  bon4-fide 
fresh  arrival  you  had  to  bring  your  cow  as  well.  The 
European's  staff  of  domestics  consists  generally  of  small 
boys  varying  from  eight  to  thirteen  years  of  age.  These 
cook,  wait,  clean  up,  wash,  in  fact  will  do  anything  you 
want  them  to  do  and  a  great  deal  more  besides.  As  we 
passed  the  little  cook  shed  one  evening  the  chef  was 
rubbing  up  the  roast  chicken  with  his  grimy  little  hands 
to  give  the  final  touch  before  sending  it  to  table.  The 
ladies  employ  female  labour,  and  the  girls  range  from  three 
to  fifteen  years  of  age,  after  which  they  marry.  One 
small  thing  of  five  years  was  "parlourmaid"  to  their 
household  at  the  time  of  our  arrival.  At  afternoon  tea 
she  strolled  into  the  room  with  the  tea-pot  balanced  on 
her  head  ;  in  the  same  exalted  position  were  the  vege- 
tables brought  in  at  dinner  served  up  in  a  large  plaited 
basket  shaped  like  a  Japanese  hat,  with  leaves  placed 
under  the  unsweetened  cooked  bananas  or  potatoes. 

The  kitchen,  like  the  servants'  quarters,  is  built  apart 
from  the  houses.  There  are  no  ranges  or  stoves.  The 
cooking-pot,  saucepan,  kettle,  or  frying-pan  sits  on  three 
bricks  or  large  stones  between  which  the  firewood  is 
rammed.  The  cooking-pots  make  successful  ovens  for 
bread-making  if  a  tray  of  fire  is  placed  on  the  top. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  being  Sunday  we  had 
an  early  opportunity  of  witnessing  a  little  of  what 
Christianity  has  done  for  Uganda.    The  unreached  tribes 

23 


i . 


1 

■I 


if"  { 


!  S 


lii^ 


I  .i'K 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

we  had  passed  through  in  their  nakedness  and  savagery, 
propitiating    demons,   and    offering    human   sacrifices, 
are  what  these  people  were  before  the  Gospel  reached 
them.    Now,  as  the  huge  church  drum,  echoing  from  hill 
to  hill,  called  to  morning  prayer,  a  continual  stream  of 
people   was    seen    pouring    into    the   large    "basket" 
cathedral.    As  we  entered  at  9  a.m.  what  an  impressive 
sight  awaited  us  !    Perhaps  the  first  thing  that  attracted 
one's  attention  was  the  veritable  forest  of  poles  that  sup- 
ported the  roof ;  but,  then,  looking  down,  the  eye  travelled 
over  a  sea  of  black  woolly  heads — of  about  two  thousand 
men  dressed  in  spotless  white  linen  on  one  side,  and  of 
women  draped  in  the  bark  cloths,  so  soft  and  restful  to  the 
eye,  on  the  other.    There  were  no  chairs  or  pews,  but  each 
one  brought  a  goat  skin  or  grass  kneeling  mat.     With  no 
muffled,  inarticulate  voice  did  they  join  in  the  service, 
but  as  they  all  united  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  a  noise  as  of 
thunder  sounded  throughout   the  building.     When  the 
time  for  reading  of  the  Scriptures  had  come,  there  was 
a  general  unbandaging  of  Gospels  or  Testaments,  which 
their  owners  securely  bind  round  in  strips  of  calico  to 
protect  them.* 

In  the  afternoon  we  paid  a  visit  to  the  young  king 
Daudi  Chwa.  His  palace  is  approached  by  passing  through 
an  endless  number  of  courtyards  formed  by  woven  cane 
fencings  ten  feet  high.  In  some  of  these  are  circular  reed 
houses  for  his  courtiers  and  servants  ;  the  last  one  is  the 
royal  enclosure.  Three  round  buildings  stand  here, 
coloured  grass  plaitings  over  the  entrance  distinguishing 
them  from  others.  In  one,  the  audience  chamber,  sat  the 
King,  then  aged  four  years. 

*  Surely  the  most  ardent  critic  ot  missions  could  not  have  failed  to 
be  convinced  of  the  reality  of  these  people's  Christianity  had  he 
looked  at  the  order  of  this  gfreat  service.  Their  reverent  behaviour 
as  they  worshipped  m  a  church  built  with  their  own  hands,  and 
listened  to  one  of  their  own  native  clergy,  must  have  deeply  impressed 
Qven  the  roost  cynical  onlooker.  ^ 


illl 


Mengo,  Uganda 

There  was  no  furniture  in  the  apartment;  fine  grass  was 
carefully  and  uniformly  laid  on  the  ground,  over  which 
mats  were  placed  on  a  slightly  elevated  reed  dais.  He 
was  an  important-looking  little  lad ;  his  curious  get-up 
made  him  appear  twice  his  age.  In  spite  of  the  great 
heat,  a  man's  European  shirt  fell  in  folds  to  his  feet,  and 
over'this  was  an  English  greasy  black  morning  coat,  made 
to  fit  a  man  of  abnormal  proportions.  Five  women  and 
two  chiefs  waited  upon  him.  Not  a  word  did  he  speak, 
but  stared  uninterruptedly,  and  when  on  leaving  we  had 
reached  the  last  courtyard,  I  was  peremptorily  recalled. 
It  was  my  velvet  collar  band  he  wanted  to  inspect. 

The  form  of  native  government  is  very  highly 
developed  and  remarkable,  for  a  tribe  that  had  had  no 
contact  with  the  forms  of  government  adopted  by 
civilized  nations.  The  feudal  system  is  practically  that  in 
vogue  throughout  the  country,  which  is  divided  up  into 
shires  or  districts  placed  under  a  chief  called  the  Sa^a, 
who  has  his  own  sub-chiefs.  He  has  the  power  of  settling 
trifling  local  questions,  but  everything  of  importance  has 
to  be  transferred  to  the  King. 

The  English  Government  had  recently  levied  upon  the 
whole  Protectorate  a  hut  tax  of  3  rupees  yearly.  This 
creates  a  new  demand,  and  has  had  a  salutary  effect  on 
a  people  whose  needs  are  so  few,  and  these  so  easily 
supplied,  that  they  have  had  little  necessity  for  learning 
the  dignity  of  work. 

Tr  nsts  could  easily  spend  some  days  profitably  in 
T  'here  there  is  much  of  real  interest  to  be  seen.    I 

\  o  my  few  days  of  excursion  trips,  as  there  is  no 

L         er  on  the  subject. 
First  day.— Grand  reception  by  natives. 
Second    day.  —  Visit    to    Cathedral,    Schools,    and 
Industrial  Department  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
open  each  day  from  8.0  to  4.0.      Pay  respects  to  His 
Majesty  Daudi  I.,  King  of  Uganda. 

23 


;!H 


|i 


'if- 
'    )- 

1. 

'  i 


.    '      ij 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Third  day.— Uganda  "  Picture  GaUery"  in  the  Bishop's 
Palace  (constructed  of  mud  and  wattle).  Every  picture 
produced  by  the  Bishop's  own  brush  while  journeying 
through  the  country.  They  were  so  beautiful  and  give 
such  a  faithful  idea  of  the  country  I  simply  longed  to 
despatch  the  whole  lot  home. 

Fourth  day.— Three  miles'  walk  to  the  ruins  of  Mackay's 
Church  and  house.  Banana  plantations  now  extend  over 
his  once  carefully  cultivated  garden,  a  few  scattered 
bricks  (the  first  and  only  introduction  of  bricks  up  to  that 
time  in  Mengo)  point  out  the  place  where  the  foundation 
of  the  great  invisible  Church  of  Uganda  was  laid.  As 
one  stood  there  one  almost  felt  surrounded  by  that  crowd 
of  witnesses  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  Just 
to  the  front  is  that  sacred  spot  where  the  first  native 
converts  were  martyred  for  their  faith. 

Fifth  day.— Visit  to  the  Hospital.  I  went  with  the 
doctor  to  observe  and  take  notes  for  future  use.  The 
day's  work  commenced  with  a  half-hour's  service  held  in 
an  open  outside  court.  The  gate  was  closed  then  against 
those  who  might  come  for  the  medicine  without  the 
morning  prayers.  Some  150  patients  were  seeking 
attention  this  day,  and  they  were  allowed  into  the  tiny 
consulting  room  five  at  a  time.  They  evidently  have  a 
good  idea  of  anatomy,  for  they  have  a  word  for  nearly 
every  bone  and  gland.  Their  faith  in  the  white  doctor 
speaks  eloquently  of  the  cures  he  has  effected.  One  man 
was  quite  hurt  because  the  surgeon  would  not  take  out 
his  liver. 

On  the  same  day  can  be  fitted  in  a  bicycle  ride  to  the 
native  potteries.  Outside  a  small  hut  we  found  two  men 
squatted  moulding  the  soft  clay  with  their  hands ;  a  well 
rounded  flint  gave  a  polish  to  the  pot,  while  a  strand  of 
coarsely  plaited  grass  stamped  on  the  soft  clay  gave  a 
border  impress.  A  huge  wood  furnace  was  burning  in  an 
adjoining  court  into  which  the  vessels  were  placed  aod 

as 


Hi 


Mengo,  Uganda 


baked.    We  were  so  interested  in  this  process  that  the 
sun  had  set  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  and  our  ride  home 
was  in  pitch  darkness  over  the  deep  rutted  roads.    I  had 
a  nasty  fall  which  suggested  that  it  might  be  wiser  to 
walk  our  machines  the  remainder  of  the  distance.    When 
we  reached  Mengo  sharp  pain  and  swollen  ankle  told  of  a 
sprain.    This  kept  me  a  prisoner  for  three  days.    It  was 
rather  providential,  for  the  mail  from  England  came  in, 
and  as  no  letters  had  reached  us  since  leaving  the  home 
shores,  just  ten  weeks  ago,  a  very  big  budget  was  handed 
in  to  me.    Only  those  who  have  really  experienced  it  can 
enter  into  the  awful  homesickness  that  sometimes  a  girl 
feels  on  her  first  long  separation  from  England.    After 
some  amount  of  tossing  about  and  roughing   it,  to  be 
suddenly  carrlad  back  by  a  letter  into  the  peace  and  quiet 
of  the  home,  and  to  read  all  the  interesting  little  natural 
bits  which  make  you  feel  once  again  among  the  home 
circle,  for  a  minute,  when  no  one  is  looking,  you  may 
behave  like  a  big  baby. 

The  destinations  of  our  party  of  missionaries  were 
soon  definitely  fixed  ;  I  was  asked  to  go  as  one  of  the  first 
women  to  Toro,  a  separate  and  independent  kingdom  nearly 
200  miles  further  inland  to  the  north-west  of  Uganda. 
It  involves  a  journey  of  12  to  14  days,  as  the  road  is  rather 
tough  and  there  are  no  conveyances.  The  wonderful 
growth  of  the  work  there  dates  from  the  conversion  of 
the  King  Kasagama  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1896, 
who  was  the  first  monarch  to  be  baptized  in  the  whole 
Protectorate.    In  1897  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to 

the  C.M.S. : —  r.  ^  o  - 

TORO,  February  i,  1897. 

To  my  dear  Friends  the  Elders  of  the  Church  in  Europe. 
I  greet  you  very  much  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us 

on  the  cross  to  make  us  children  of  God.  How  are  you,  sirs  ? 
I  am  Daudi  (David)  Kasagama,  King  of  Toro.    The  reason  why 

I  commence  to  tell  you  that  is  because  1  wish  you  to  know 

me  welL 


CS 


;  rf>!ff ! 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Liind 

God  our  Father  gave  me  the  Kingdom  of  To-,  to  reign  <  "^^fw 
Him,  therefore  I  write  to  you  my  brethren  to  '«»e€ch  you 
to  remember  me  and  to  pray  for  me  every  day,  aVi  'hi-,  d^  i 

I  praise  my  Lord  very  very  much  indeed  for  the  wordsiofthc 
Gospels  He  brought  into  my  country,  and  you  my  brothen 
I  thank  you  for  sending  Teachers  to  come  here  to  teach  at 
such  beautiful  words. 

I  therefore  tell  you  that  I  want  very  much,  God  giving  me 
strength,  to  arrange  all  the  matters  of  this  country  for  Him 
only,  that  all  my  people  may  understand  that  Christ  Jesui 
He  is  the  Saviour  oi  all  countries,  and  that  He  is  the  King 
of  all  kings.  Therefore,  sirs,  I  tell  you  that  I  have  built  a 
very  large  Church  in  my  Capital,  and  we  call  it  "The 
Church  of  St-  John." 

Also  that  very  many  people  come  every  day  into  the  Church  to 
learn  the  "Words  of  Life,"  perhaps  150,  also  on  Sunday 
they  are  very  many  who  come  to  worship  God  our  Father  in 
His  holy  Church  [and  to  praise  Him.  I  also  tell  you  that  in 
tho  gardens  near  here  we  have  built  six  Churches.  The 
people  of  this  place  have  very  great  hunger  indeed  for  the 
"  Bread  of  Life,"  many  die  every  day  while  still  in  their  sins 
because  they  do  not  hear  the  Gospel.  The  teachers  are  few 
and  those  who  wish  to  read,  many.  Therefore,  birs,  my  dear 
friends,  have  pity  upon  my  people,  in  great  darkness  ;  they 
do  not  know  where  they  are  going. 

Also  I  want  to  tell  you  that  there  are  very  many  heathen  nations 
close  to  my  country— Abakonjo,  Abamba,  Abahoka 
Abasagala,  Abasongola,  Abaega,  and  many  others  in 
darkness.  We  heard  that  now  in  Uganda  there  are  English 
ladies  ;  but,  sirs,  here  is  very  great  need  for  ladies  to  come 
and  teach  our  ladies.  I  wart  very  very  much  that  they 
come. 

Also,  my  friends,  help  us  every  day  in  your  prayers.  I  want  my 
country  to  be  a  strong  Lantern  that  is  not  put  out,  in  this 
land  of  .  irkness. 
Also  I  wish  to  make  dear  friends  in  Europe,  because  we  are  One 
in  Christ  Jesus  Our  Saviour.  Now  good-bye,  my  dear 
friends.    God  be  with  you  in  all  your  decisions. 

I  am  your  friend  who  loves  you  in  Jesus, 

DAUDI  KASAGAMA. 

How  well  I  remember  the  deep  impression  that  request 

at 


Mengo,  Uganda 


made  on  me  as  I  read  it,  little  realizing  at  the  time  that 
God  would  send  me  out  in  answer  to  it.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
A.  B.  Lloyd  were  also  located  to  Toro,  and  Miss  Pike, 
who  had  arrived  in  Uganda  six  months  previously. 

As  soon  as  we  knew  our  location  we  went  off  to 
Kampala,  the  market  place  and  Government  station  of 
Mengo,  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  oil,  wheat,  matches,  bark 
cloths;  also  cowrie  shells,  beads,  and  calico,  which  are 
the  currency  of  the  Toro  district.  Our  purse  took  the 
shape  of  two  large  sacks,  each  weighing  65lbs.,  and  these 
needed  two  men  to  carry  them. 

Kampala  was  very  different  from  N  amirembe.  S wahilis, 
Indians,  Arabs,  and  natives  crowded  the  narrow,  stuffy 
street  called  a  market  place.  Open  booths  extended 
down  either  side,  and  on  shelves  were  displayed  various 
native  grains  and  vegetable  produce,  while  gorgeous 
coloured  prints  and  calicoes,  beads,  and  brass  wire 
adorned  the  outfitters'  shops.  As  we  passed  along,  small 
amused  crowds  followed  us  to  see  the  "  tall  ladies." 

The  law  court  would  have  shocked  the  members  of  the 
profession  of  Fleet  Street.  It  was  a  barn-like  structure 
built  of  reeds ;  there  were  no  benches  and  witness  boxes, 
the  only  official  item  being  a  coat  of  arms  wrought  on  an 
enamelled  iron  plate  over  the  judge's  seat  and  table. 

We  heard  there  was  a  nice  little  white-washed  mud 
house  awaiting  us  in  Toro,  but  there  were  no  windows 
or  doors.  The  European  missionary  already  working 
there  promised  to  make  these  when  we  supplied  him  with 
wood  from  our  packing-cases. 

Toro  was  still  in  its  very  dark  state,  but  the  people 
were  willing  and  eager  to  learn.  The  Uganda  of  the 
present  has  been  the  result  of  years  of  labcmr,  the  cost  of 
noblest  lives,  the  scenes  of  grandest  heroism,  the  patient, 
untiring,  lonely  work  of  such  men  as  Mackay,  Pilkington, 
and  many  others.  Toro  appeared  to  have  few  physical 
dangers,  but  the  moral  and  spiritual  difficulties  were  just 

29 


^'1: 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  ^-and 

the  same.  A  fortnight's  jouraey  seemed  a  long  distance 
to  the  nearest  European  station,  especially  to  one  straight 
out  from  the  roar  and  bustle  of  London  life,  the  noise  and 
rattle  of  a  large  family  of  brothers  and  sisters. 

We  felt  very  incompetent  implements,  but  remembered 
the  prayers  going  up  for  us  England,  and  believed  that 
they  would  have  power  with  the  great  Master-Builder, 
the  Architect  of  the  ages— so  that  the  habitation  being 
builded  together  for  God  in  Toro  might  be  "  all  glorior ' 
within." 


.;     i  ' 


1   P 


■Hi 


.   f 


30 


CHAPTER  IV 


Toro :  The  Land  of  the  Mountains  of 
the  Moon 

ON  Tuesday,  April  loth,  1900,  the  start  was  made  for 
Toro.     Our  caravan  of  porters  had  been  sent  on 
before  to  havt,  our  first  camp  in  readiness  on  our 
arrival. 
Bishop     Tucker,    \'ho    was    coming    our    way  for 
two  days  on  a  visit  to  an  out-station,  set  off  on  his  mule, 
with  Miss  Pike  mounted  on  a  most  apologetic-looking 
donkey.    The  Lloyds  and  myself  arranged  our  departure 
two  hours  later,  as  our  cycles  promised  a  quicker  method 
of  locomotion.    Having  said  the  last  good-bye  to  friends, 
I  went  away  for  an  hour's  quiet  to  get  strengthened  for 
the  journey.      Taking  out  my  "  Daily  Light "  I  looked 
for  its  message,  which  was  the  promise  given  to  Israel 
while  in  captivity,  "  Thy  renown  went  forth  among  the 
heathen  for  thy  beauty,  for  thou  art  perfect  in  the  majesty 
(R.V.)   that  I  have  put  upon  thee,  saith  the  Lord." 
What  a  glorious  responsibility  through  the  graciousness 
of  God  to  be  allowed  to  proclaim  the  renown,  beauty  and 
majesty  of  Christ  among  the  heathen. 

At  3.0  three  cyclists  could  have  been  seen  scorching 
down  the  hills  from  Mengo  with  a  crowd  of  boys  and 
men  as  bodyguard,  all  the  twelve  miles  to  camp.  Africans 
seem  to  be  possessed  with  an  extra  breathing  reservoir, 
for  they  can  run  almost  any  distance  without  stopping  to 
regain  breath.  It  was  dark  or  semi-obscure  in  the  small 
forest  opening  where  we  found  our  encampment.    Miss 

31 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Pike  was  unceremoniously  seated  on  a  big  box  swallowing 
pints  of  tea  !  The  porters  had  tried  to  erect  our  tent, 
but  had  not  learned  the  knack,  and  we  had  to  creep  into 
flabby  folds  of  canvas.  V  looked  like  a  native  who  wants 
his  one  daily  meal— it  sadly  needed  inflating.  Oh,  dear! 
How  did  we  manage  that  night !  It  became  dark  so  soon, 
everybody  had  to  fish  about  with  candles  among  a 
medley  of  boxes,  porters  and  food.  Our  Baganda  boyi 
were  certainly  not  trained  like  the  Swahili  attendants 
who  came  up  with  us  to  Uganda,  in  the  mysteries  and 
arts  of  camping  out.  European  equipments  were  un- 
solved conundrums  to  them.  Our  four  youths  looked 
hopelessly  vacant,  jabbering  about  round  the  tent,  doing 
nothing  but  getting  into  one's  way.  When  we  did  sit 
down  to  a  personally  -  superintended  cooked  meal,  the 
"  waiter  "  knocked  the  wash-hand  basin  of  water  over 
my  pillows,  which  had  to  be  round  a  fire  all  night  to  dry. 
The  "boys"  can  learn  to  do  things  fairly  nicely  if  you 
have  patience  to  allow  them  plenty  of  time  for  an  idea  to 
filter  through  their  minds.  They  wanted  an  hour  for 
preparing  our  table  at  each  meal,  which  was  only 
furnished  with  the  simplest  and  most  limited  number  of 
things.  Sitting  down  before  the  food  box  they  took  out 
every  tin  and  contemplated  each  one  for  some  minutes 
before  deciding  whether  salt  was  eaten  with  tea,  jam 
with  meat,  and  so  on. 

The  next  moiuing  at  4.30  we  were  all  astir  again,  and 
as  soon  as  our  belongings  were  packed  up,  were  on  our 
way.  How  I  wish  I  had  the  power  of  descriptive 
writing  to  enable  others  to  peep  into  one  of  the  many 
exquisite  belts  of  forest  that  crossed  the  road  at  constant 
intervals.  They  surpassed  any  Kew  tropical  greenhouse. 
Unlike  the  tangled  disorderly  forests  passed  on  our  way 
to  Uganda,  date  palms,  trees,  climbers,  flowers  such  as 
orchids,  sunflowers,  wild  pea  and  tomatoes  flourished 
there  in  perfect  life  and  vigour. 

32 


The  Mountains  of  the  Moon 


Emerging  from  the  cool  shade  of  these  trees,  our  track 
passed  through  stretches  of  papyrus  and  pampas  grasses 
eight  to  fifteen  feet  high.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  see 
the  path  of  about  one  foot  wide  which  had  become  over* 
grown  and  covered  by  broken  tiger  grass.  Cycling  was 
anything  but  easy.  We  had  to  butt  our  sun  helmets  into 
the  long,  wet  waving  grass,  blindly  careering  forward. 
There  is  absolutely  no  level  ground  between  Toro  and 
Uganda,  but  a  succession  of  hills  over  the  tops  of  which 
the  road  has  been  cut.  The  descents,  sometimes  very 
steep  are  dangerous  on  account  of  the  thick  muddy  swamps 
that  frequently  wind  round  the  bases  of  the  hills.  The 
bridges  over  these  swamps  often  get  washed  away  in  the 
rainy  seasons.  One  almost  feels  the  treacherous  malaria, 
as  heat  waves  sweep  heavily  along,  while  being  carried 
through  these  "  Sloughs  of  Despond  "  on  the  shoulder 
of  one  of  the  strongest  porters.  I  suppose  one  of  these 
was  responsible  for  the  heat  sickness  that  I  woke  up  with 
one  morning.  A  long  tiresome  march  lay  ahead,  so  the 
hammock  was  insisted  upon,  and  six  men,  lent  by  the 
chief  of  the  village,  came  as  carriers.  It  was  rather 
ludicrous  to  watch  the  sympathy  of  the  natives.  I  could 
have  imagined  myself  dying;  but  the  shock  they  sustained 
when  the  first  little  bit  of  decent  road  was  reached ! 
In  half-a-minute  the  awe-struck  men  stood  gasping  as,  call- 
ing out  to  be  lowered,  the  poor,  dying  "  Mukyala  "  (lady) 
coasted  down  a  tempting  hill.  They  looked  quite  relieved 
when  they  found  her  awaiting  the  hammock  at  the  foot 
of  the  next  climb. 

In  one  camp  the  chief  came  to  pay  us  his  respects 
and  brought  six  old  men  with  him  and  several  lolks  to 
whom  he  wanted  to  show  the  white  ladies,  none  having 
passed  along  that  way  before.  I  could  do  nothing  more 
than  greet  them  with  an  ext  ,tad  string  of  grunts,  but 
this  pleased  them  immensely.  Mr.  Lloyd  asked  if  I 
would  let    down    my    hair,    as   they    had    never   seen 

33  D 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

anythini;  different  from  their  own  croppea,  frixxy  patet, 
and  the  sliort  hair  of  a  few  white  men.  Out  cama 
the  hairpins,  and  as  the  hair  tumbled  down  & 
loud  lau{;h  of  delight  and  surprise  came  from 
every  onlo<  cer.  A  lesson  in  hairdressing  followed, 
and  each  twist,  turn  and  pin  was  watched  with  lively 
excitement.  A  spoonful  of  salt  was  given  round  to  every 
visitor  before  leaving.  Their  eyes  glistened,  their  handi 
were  lifted  tothei:  mou'Jig,  the  tongues  protruded,  and, 
oh,  the  delight  of  f  i*  rioment '  They  smacked  their 
lips  and  relished  ii  i  .nn  h  as  I  enjoyed  sherbet  in  j,irl- 
hood's  days.  Thj  rtmu  ing  dainty  morsel  was  tied  up 
in  a  piece  of  ban  .,-^.  ievf. 

The  roads  pro*  "d  tc  rr  uch  for  my  poor  wheel.  itil 
it  could  be  attendta  to  )  a  Lonaon  bpecialist  it  hr  '  to 
be  regarded  as  a  chronic  displacement.  The  strai  on 
the  fork  had  been  too  incess  i  ;t  ar  1  heavy  with  only  a 
front  rim  brake.  The  ruts,  ditches,  and  obstacles  had 
given  it  a  terrible  shaking,  and  finally  succecdod  in 
literally  tearing  the  fork  a\\  y  from  the  ^ar.  The 
remainder  of  the  journey,  about  140  miles  had  to  be 
covered  on  foot.  Miss  Pike  was  in  the  same  predica- 
ment, as  the  dfnkey  gave  in  even  before  the  ^licycle. 

On  the  sixth  day  from  Mengo  we  reached  Lwekula  and 
put  up  at  a  European  fort,  vacai  d  now,  but  built  and 
occupied  at  the  last  Soudanese  rebel,  on  wher  the  Nubian 
troops  and  Mohammedan  population  weri  up  in  arms 
against  the  British  Government.  It  is  a  square  fenced-in 
enclosure  with  sentinel  boxes  at  ach  corner  and  a  deep, 
d'-y  moat  surrounding  it.  Two  r  three  reed  shed- 
bcand  inside,  one  of  which  we  made  use  of  instead  of  our 
tents,  which  are  intensely  hot  during  the  day  ume. 
Unfortunately,  Mrs.  Lloyd  was  taken  w;  h  bad  fever  a* 
we  reached  here,  and  as  her  temperature  emained  at  10. 
on  the  third  day  a  special  runner  w.^  dispatched  to 
Mengo  asking  Dr.  Cook  to  come  out  to  her      The  e'X 


The  Mountains  of  the  Moon 


following  days  of  waiting  tor  his  arrivw  ure  Anxious 
times  to  u^  all,  and  we  watch<  i  by  her  beds  d«>  day  and 
night.  When  he  did  come  the  fever  ref  iscd  to  yield  to 
treatment.  After  a  fortnii?hi  '^itew.  thu-  it  was  decided 
that  she  shoui(  be  carried  back  tu  the  nearest  European 
station  three  i^  3  aw  iv.  Before  leavin(^',  the  doctor  had 
an  oppo  tuni?  of  rehe>  in  »cv  1  po<  ■  n.  tive  sufferers. 
One  wus  a  tubercular  v  ase,  wh  h  jcessifated  amputation 
of  the  finger.  In  lieu  'fin  -pe/atingth-atreth-  patient 
was  laid  on  thf  grou.d  and  iven  chloroforr  !  We 
(^njoyed  a  few  egulft  'iit-'.,iti  nt  lays  of  ho^jjital  life 
.i,'ain. 
T''e  kn    vied?     that  two  *av«-'lin{, 

nd  .1 


'"tirn  had  o   ne        is  di  ni    birt 
seem'     added  to  n'- quart  ■'  of 


had  been  like  Hoth^ 
England,  and  now  1 
that  con.  ecte  '  •    le  vv 
my  Bible,   inu  ^^Atm 
Kingdom       the  Lfi' 
could  nsv       !»et 
't  b  jughi  .  uch    ^eai 


and  si;  er  t 
^a.  like  t;<.  aj. 


tends  must 
"-'w  weight 
*^u.  ife.    They 

ivt         ce  lea   ing 
ver      ing 
h  tb<       d  iaui.  i  tur         to 

2  wae  birt!  >  poition —  le 
-  '  stc  jut  /ritten  in  gold  I 
d  G  s  country,  God's  territ  ory. 
i,  t  irt,  protection.  No  longer 
>vas  u  'le  pert  a  aim  ^st  on«-  m  a  big  strange  land,  but 
a  chile  if  a  Kinp  who  reit  eth  in  Africa  as  in  England, 
and  nt    er  se     ^  without       mself  going,  too. 

Th(  di  ctoi       (  nt  I.  1.  on  April  30th  to  get  ready 

the  camp   for  the     loyds,  a.nd     t  4.0  p.m.  we  fixed  the 

nvalid  up  in  the  ha     ^     k  anu    eft  the  Fort  with  them. 

It  wa  ,  a  sad  and  ?   t       j^roces^  on,  and  a  talk  with  Mr. 

L      ]    =ihowed  us  how  bitter  was  the  disappointment  to 

;m  both.        .  sunse'   we  stood  and  wished  them  good- 

,  ai      t  ju      leeded  all  the  strength  we  could  command 

Kfep      ck  luc  hot  tears  that  wanted  to  fall  'vith  those 

It  ^00=     he  p  or  httle  patient.     Neither  0"  us  could 

speak    s  Miss  Pil^     inf^  I  returned  to  the  desolate  Fort. 

Aire    _,  two  of  O:        iiiij-anions  has  been  obliged  to  turn 

8S 


liji 


>-':\- 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigtaj  Land 

back,  and  we  two  girls  were  left  to  goon  with  a  missionary 
who  had  come  out  to  escort  us  to  Toro. 

At  midnight  my  companion  was  seized  with  violent 
sickness  and  slight  temperature.  Donning  slippers  and 
enveloping  myself  in  a  blanket,  I  ran  out  across  the  Fort 
to  rouse  one  of  the  boys  for  hot  water.  It  was  awfully 
uncanny.  The  starlit  sky  was  entirely  shut  out  by  angry 
clouds,  and  the  darkness  was  intolerable.  Only  the  shrill 
shriek  of  the  hyenas  broke  the  stiJ'iess,  and  I  half  expected 
the  faint  light  from  my  candle  lamp  to  fall  upon  a  leopard 
or  reptile. 

After  two  days,  however,  she  so  far  recovered  as  to  be 
able  in  a  hammock  to  take  up  the  journey  once  more. 

I  am  quite  sure  Heber  had  never  visited  Uganda  when 

he  wrote : — 

"  Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains 
Roll  down  their  golden  sand." 

If  he  had  done  so  it  might  have  run  : — 

"  Where  Afric's  swamps  and  mountains 
Meet  one  on  every  hand." 

Our  experience  next  day  especially  proved  this.  At  6  a.m. 
a  cloudless  sky  greeted  us,  and  damp  white  mists  were 
sleeping  in  each  hollow.  At  the  foot  of  the  first  hill  we 
were  confronted  by  a  long  swamp  witu  tall  papyrus  grass 
growing  on  either  side.  We  had  recourse  to  the 
hammock,  and  as  the  water  reached  the  carriers*  waists, 
one  felt  the  canvas  was  some  inches  in  water  and  that  it 
was  a  case  of  floating  through  the  dirty,  stagnant  river. 
I  wondered  if  poor  little  Moses  in  the  bulrushes  ever  felt 
as  we  did  among  the  papyrus.  The  second  swamp  gave 
us  a  little  variety,  as  the  reed  bridge  had  been  broken 
down  and  the  step  down  into  the  swamp  was  so  steep 
that  we  felt  uncomfortably  like  sliding  over  the  front 
carrier,  while  the  climb  up  at  the  other  end  gave  us  our 
first  sensation  of  standing  on  our  heads. 

36 


The  Mountains  of  the  Moon 


At  II  o'clock  we  halted  under  a  tree  and  feasted  on 
sausages  (tinned),  sweet  potatoes,  cornflour,  biscuits,  and 
tea.  Sausages  are  a  great  treat  out  here,  and  we  only 
indulged  as  we  were  doing  a  double  march  to  reach  Toro 
that  day  week.  We  then  waited  till  2  p.m.  so  as  to 
allow  the  sun  to  cool  down  a  bit,  and  enjoyed  reading  an 
English  newspaper,  the  "  British  Weekly,"  of  February 
i6th  date.  After  that  we  felt  quite  ready  to  continue  our 
inarch,  reaching  camp  at  4  o'clock,  only  to  find  our  tents 
had  been  pitched  on  such  a  c  igustingly  dirty  old  camp- 
ing ground  that  they  had  to  be  taken  up  and  erected 
some  hundred  yards  further  on. 

Diary-making  that  day  was  impossible.  Our  tent,  from 
the  bottom  to  the  top,  was  literally  lined  with  mosquitoes, 
and  their  singing  quite  put  in  the  shade  the  Royal  Choral 
Society  at  the  Albert  Hall.  In  the  two  previous  camps 
they  had  covered  the  roof,  but  evidently  never  tasted  the 
joys  of  European  flesh  and  feared  to  descend.  These 
others  were  more  initiated. 

Arriving  at  Butiti,  •  hich  is  only  30  miles  firom 
Kabarole,  the  capital  of  Toro,  we  found  a  most  prosperous 
work  going  on  among  the  people.  Our  kind  escort  from 
Lwekula,  Mr.  Ecob,  was  stationed  there.  A  marriage 
was  solemnized  in  the  Mission  Church  on  the  day  of  our 
arrival.  We  went  out  of  curiosity  and  to  get  a  peep  into 
the  native  customs.  Never  have  I  disgraced  myself  by 
such  uncontrollable  laughter.  First  of  all,  the  pair  were 
not  forthcoming,  and  so  the  parson  organized  a  search 
party.  A  hilarious  sound  from  the  porch  warned  us  of 
the  bridegroom's  arrival.  He  was  a  lanky  stripling  of 
about  17,  dressed  in  a  long  white  gown.  His  best  man 
wore  a  very  hole-y  shirt,  Jaeger-coloured  for  want  of  a 
wash.  An  unwound  turban  was  thrown  over  his 
shoulder  till  required.  The  bridegroom  went  forward 
and  squatted  on  a  grass  mat  in  front  of  the  chancel  to 
await  his  betrothed.     Soon  a  slow,  solemn  procession 

87 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

coming  in  at  a  side  door  brought  in  view  the  belated 
bride,  accompanied  and  surrounded  by  about  thirty 
maidens.  How  can  I  describe  that  picture!  She  was 
ugly — as  ugly  as  the  imagination  could  picture;  some- 
what  advanced  in  years  ;  her  face  was  marred  by  cutting 
and  branding,  and  she  was  reeking  with  grease  which 
was  amply  smeared  over  iace  and  shoulders.  On  her 
head  sat  a  red  Turk's  cap  worn  as  a  sign  of  marriage  or 
high  station.  This,  on  account  of  its  size,  had  the 
appearance  of  a  candle  extinguisher.  Then  her  body 
Mras  swathed  in  all  sorts  of  coloured  prints  and  beads. 
After  the  ceremony,  the  couple  left  by  different  doors,  the 
bridesmaids  holding  an  old  torn  "brollie"  over  the 
retiring  bride,  who  was  weeping  copiously.  The  women 
regard  marriage  in  rather  a  philosophical  light.  They 
say  it  has  two  arms.  One  brings  a  home,  protection,  and 
presents  of  clothing  and  rejoicing.  The  other  shuts  the 
door  of  liberty ;  it  brings  work,  and  that  means  sorrow. 
The  thought  of  the  latter  predominates  on  the  wedding  day. 
When  six  miles  away  from  Butiti  we  got  our  first  view 
of  the  Mounta*  i~  of  the  Moon.  I  can  never  forget  the 
sight  that  was  suddenly  opened  up  as  we  turned  a  sharp 
bend  round  a  high  hill.  It  was  4.30  p.m.  Huge  peaks, 
sharp  and  rup^ged,  stretched  from  north  to  south  in  an 
unbroken  range  of  sixty-nine  miles  long.  Heavy  black 
thunder  clouds  rolled  over  some  of  the  summits,  while 
the  lightning  shot  out  angry  tongues  of  fire.  Torrents  of 
rain  were  sweeping  away  to  our  right,  while  the  sun  beat 
down  in  full  strength  upon  the  valleys.  Above  all,  calm 
and  serene,  shone  the  region  of  snow.  For  all  ap'es  the 
sun  has  directed  its  equatorial  pc  A'er  against  that  ice 
fortress.  Storms  have  thundered  and  crushed  against  its 
foundations,  but  it  has  ever  stood  as  the  one  impregnable 
and  unsullied  witness  of  holiness  and  purity  to  God,  in  a 
land  where  darkness  has  reigned,  and  the  storms  of 
passion,  vice  and  barbarity  have  laid  desolate. 


The  Mountains  of  the  Moon 

Descending  to  the  forest  just  beneath  us,  we  sat  under 
the  shade  of  its  trees,  keeping  well  in  view  of  glorious 
Ruwenzori.  While  tea  was  in  preparation  we  just  gave 
ourselves  up  to  the  influences  of  environment.  For  a 
moment  we  even  dared  to  feel  poetical.  Long  forgotten 
stanzas  lived  again  in  the  memory,  but  were  all  put  down 
as  original  and  momentary  genius.  My  turn  having 
come  round,  I  made  a  rush  at  something  with  a  guilty 
conscience  of  poaching  on  another  one's  preserves,  and  it 
ran  something  like : — 

"  Mounuins  on  whose  rugged  breast 
The  labouring  clouds  do  often  rest.' 

But  I  got  no  further,  for  who  should  appear  but  someone 
suspiciously  like  a  tourist.  So  unusual  a  sight  made  us 
forget  English  customs,  and  we  waited  for  no  introductions. 
We  received  a  real  warm  welcome  straight  away  from  our 
companion-designate  and  only  co-worker  in  Kabarole. 

Next  morning  we  rose  at  5.0  and  saw  the  sun  rise  on  the 
snow  peaks  and  then  started  on  our  last  walk. 

Almost  immediately  runners  met  us  bearing  letters 
from  the  King  and  Queen,  the  Namasole  (the  King's 
mother),  the  Prime  Minister,  and  chiefs,  all  welcoming 
us  in  worJs  of  warmest  thanks.     These  men  scarcely 
waited  for  our  verbal  answer  before  rushing  back.    In 
fact,  the  road  for  a  long  way  ahead  was  defined  by  men 
and  boys  rushing  toward  and  from  us  with  messages.    As 
we  drew  nearer  a  few  teachers  and  others  came  to  prepare 
us  for  the  reception  that  awaited  us,  and  informed  us 
that  the  women  of  Toro  were  congregated  just  beyond 
our  next  hill.    We  little   guessed   what  an  army  lay 
entrenched  there.     As  we  approached,  one  moving  mass 
of  fluttering  white  and  crimson  gowns  came  bearing  down 
upon  us,  rushing,  clapping  their  hands,  and  shrieking. 
Then  crowds  of  black  arms  were  thrown  wildly  round  our 
necks,  ar'^'        many  pates  placed  from  one  shoulder  to 
the  other. 


>w 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

We  tilked  as  well  as  we  could  to  them,  but  our  pro- 
gress was  slow,  as  every  now  and  again  they  stopped  us 
and  repeated  their  demonstrations.  Over  the  next  hill 
thn  male  force  had  rallied,  and  here  a  no  less  hearty 
thougl  more  formal  welcome  awaited  us. 

V/e  made  for  the  church,  which  wa?  crowded,  and  a 
few  impromptu  prayers  and  hymns  of  praise  went  up  on 
our  behalf.  Then  we  inspected  our  future  white-washed 
home,  and  from  that  moment,  all  day  long  and  every 
day,  we  were  crowded  with  visitors. 

The  royal  band  was  sent  down  by  His  Majesty  to  play 
outside  our  house.  It  was  composed  of  six  drummers 
and  twelve  fifers,  whose  instruments  are  able  to  produce 
about  five  notes,  and  with  these  they  produce  indistin- 
guishable tunes.  Their  appreciation  of  music  seems  to 
depend  on  the  volume  of  sound  produced,  so  in  order  to 
give  us  a  proof  of  ^h^ir  welcome  they  blew  to  bursting 
pitch.  All  day  long  we  were  serenaded  and  at  night, 
too.  It  went  on  into  the  second  day,  and  thinking  the 
bandsmen  might  prove  to  have  stronger  lung  power  than 
we  had  of  endurance,  we  set  a  polite  message  to  his 
Majesty  asking  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  rest  at 
night  till  daylight. 

So  at  last  we  had  reached  our  journey's  end.  The 
sixteen  weeks  that  had  run  out  since  leaving  home  had 
been  long  and  eventful.  As  the  evening  fell  on  our  first 
day  in  Toro,  we  gathered  round  our  log  fire  and  sang 
together  "  O  God  our  help  in  ages  past." 


40 


I 


CHAPTER  V 
The    Country 

TORO  is  one  of  the  four  Kingdoms  that  comprise  the 
Uganda  Protectorate  and  lies  on  the  North-west 
boundary.  The  present  outlook  would  lead  one  to 
think  that  it  will  remain  unaffected  longer  than  the 
other  three  neighbouring  States  by  the  inroads  that 
civilization  is  making  in  Uganda,  which  the  railway  has 
brought  into  such  close  proximity  to  the  outside  world, 
while  traders  pass  along  the  splendid  caravan  roads 
through  Bunyoro  up  to  the  Nile,  and  to  the  Southern 
cattle-rearing  Kingdom  of  Ankole.  There  is  nothing  to 
attract  them  to  Toro,  as  the  journey  is  a  real  physical 
effort,  and  there  is  no  commercial  prospect  of  mineral 
wealth  or  remunerative  industry  to  justify  the  long  journey. 
The  ivory  that  formerly  brought  the  Arab  traders  into  the 
country  is  now  almost  entirely  preserved  by  the  British 
Government.  So,  unless  Toro  is  visited  by  more  suc- 
cessful prospectors  than  those  who  have  already  casually 
looked  round,  who  shall  discover  some  hidden  mine  of 
wealth,  in  all  probability  it  will  remain  undisturbed  in 
its  present  state  of  rusticity. 

But  it  is  a  wonderful  country,  and  one  that  must  ever 
fascinate  a  lover  of  nature  and  its  freaks.  The  moun- 
tains are  in  themselves  a  unique  feature.  One  can 
scarcely  reconcile  the  co-existence  of  an  equatorial  sun 
and  eternal  snows,  yet  so  it  is.  Strange  mountain  tribes 
in  quite  primeval  state  live  among  its  forests  and  creeks, 
while  just  on  its  other  side  extends  Stanley's  Great 
Forest  with  its  pigmy  inhabitants. 

41 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

On  all  sides  one  sees  the  results  of  the  operation  cS 
mighty  unseen  forces.  Numbe''  of  extinct  volcanoes  are 
visible  from  our  hill,  the  craters  of  which  form  the  beds 
of  lakes  now,  with  vegetation  and  forest  growth  stretching 
down  their  sides  to  the  water's  edge. 

They  must  have  enjoyed  a  good  long  sleep,  as  no  hints 
of  their  activity  are  traced  in  the  native  traditions,  which 
go  back  to  a  corresponding  Adamic  period.  There  are 
quite  a  number  of  legends,  however,  which  invariably 
associate  them  with  evil  spirits  that  are  supposed  to  live 
in  the  craters.  This  is  believed  even  still  by  some  of  the 
raw  peasants.  One  day  a  woman  told  me  that  her  two 
little  boys  had  been  playing  in  the  courtyard  while  she 
was  at  work,  and  the  "  Muchwezi  "  (evil  spirit)  from  the 
Crater  hill  two  miles  away  had  come  and  run  o£f  with 
her  elder  child.  For  two  years  he  had  remained  lost  to 
them,  when  suddenly  he  returned  clothed  in  a  strip  of 
bark-cloth  and  a  charm  round  his  neck  peculiar  to  that 
evil  spirit.  He  was  sworn  to  divulge  nothing  of  what 
had  happened  to  hfm  while  being  with  the  evil  spirits  in 
the  crater,  under  the  penalty  of  being  caught  away  again 
by  them. 

Here  let  me  recount  a  rather  unique  picnic  we  had  at 
one  of  these  crater  lakes  three  miles  away.  It  happened 
on  a  Monday — the  Missionaries'  off-day — when  general 
repairs  and  washing  are  usually  done,  or  visits  paid  to 
neighbouring  villages.  We  started  off  on  our  bikes  io 
high  spirits  which  managed  to  survive  a  heavy  thunder- 
storm that  overtook  us  half  way  and  soaked  us  through. 
We  hung  ourselves  out  to  dry  round  a  fire  in  the  hut  on 
the  lake  shore,  and  having  warmed  ourselves  with  tea 
made  for  the  lake  in  search  of  wild-duck.  We  baled 
the  water  out  of  the  dug-out  canoe  and  set  off  With  three 
boys  as  paddlers.  You  never  met  with  anything  mora 
aggravatinf^  than  an  African  dug-out ;  they  are  so  badly 
balanced  that  the  least  movement  threatens  to  ovartiini 

4i 


The  Country 

the  skiff;  and  as  for  steering,  that  is  out  of  the  question. 
Anyhow,  when  we  were  far  away  from  our  landing  pomt. 
the  canoe  refused  to  move,  except  in  '^o^Pl'^*^,"^^^^:  JT* 
could  make  no  headway;  the  united  ^«0''\^ ''^^^^^^ 
niyself.  who  did  not  row-failed  to  move  the  boat  except 
in  rapid  revolutions.    Then  a  storm  blew  up  and  dark- 
ness seemed  to  be  suddenly  settling  down  on  us.    One  of 
our  party,  who  knew  from  experience  our  danger,  was  m 
a  ter'.ble  fright.     I  tried  hard  to  tune  up  to  "  Excels.or" 
and  "  Midshipmite."  which  eventually  evidently  appealed 
to  the  kind  heart  of  the  elements,  for  the  boat  moved  and 
we  were  safely  landed.     But  the  return  home  was  the 
difficulty.      The  moon  went  in  as  soon  as  it  appeared, 
and  as  it  was  so  dark  a  different  route  was  suggested,  m 
order  to  escape  the  river  which  we  had  to  cross  on  our 
way  out.     About  half  way  we  found  out  that  the  recent 
storms  had  ..vashed  away  the  bridge  we  had  relied  upon 
to  get  us  across  the  river  and  so  were  obliged  to  trust  to 
other  means.      Miss  Pike  headed  the  procession  on  a 
boy's  shoulder,  but  as  the  water  came  up  to  the  lad  s  arm- 
pit  her  position  was  far  from  enviable.    Then  I  ventur«^ 
on  the  donkey,  sitting  in  a  sort  of  tailor  fashion,  but  a^as ! 
the  water  refused  to  let  me  off  scot  free.    After  that,  in  a 
miserably  drenched  condition,  with  our  flapping   skirts 
like  reservoirs  of  water,  we  trudged  on  through  long  ^s 
and  thick  mud.  and  at  last  reached  a  succession  of  deep 
swamps.    One  of  these  looked  so  tragic  and  interminable 
that  the  men  insisted  on  crossing  hands  and  *akmgme 
through  in  dandy-chair  style.     I  shall  not  forget  that 
experience.     Like  Christian  of  old.  one  of  my  carrier  s 
strength  and  courage  failed  him.  and  half-way  I  became 
suddenly  aware  that  he  was  rapidly  disappearing  under 
water.      A  violent  yell  brought  small  boys  to  the  rescue, 
who.  supporting  me.  managed  to  extricate  h»"  fr°«J  *°^ 
mud  depths,  and  a  second  stait  was  made ;  but  just  as  we 
were  reaching  the  other  side  the  same  poor,  unfortunate 

43 


(   " 


^M 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

man  landed  in  more  mud,  into  which  he  sank.  Before 
I  could  release  my  hold,  I  saw  him  go  completely  under 
the  water,  and  felt  myself  rap.dly  descending  into  the 
depths  over  his  head.  The  situation  was  so  ludicrous 
that  the  awful  after-effects  were  forgotten  in  the  peals  of 
laughter  which  no  one  could  restrain,  in  spite  of  the  poor 
man's  miserable  condition  and  my  own. 

To  resume  our  description — on  the  east  of  Ruwenzori 
the  land  presents  an  unbroken  stretch  of  undulating 
country;  on  the  west  side  the  land  falls  rapidly  and  forms 
the  Semliki  plain,  so  called  after  the  river  that  winds 
zigzag  through  it,  uniting  the  Albert  Edward  Nyanza  on 
the  south  to  the  Albert  Nyanza  on  the  north. 

Descending  to  this  plain  round  the  north  end  of  the 
mountain  range,  the  configuration  of  the  land  indicates 
two  distinct  ancient  water  levels ;  this  is  confirmed  by 
the  quantities  of  small  shells  that  are  often  found  in 
scattered  heaps  among  the  sandy  soil,  similar  to  those 
now  found  on  the  Lake  shores. 

With  the  exception  of  the  fringe  of  the  Congo  Forest 
that  enters  the  Toro  boundary,  and  the  Bamboo  Forests 
that  grow  so  thickly  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  Toro 
is  not  abundant  in  trees  and  timber.  Wide  veins  of 
woodland  winding  along  the  river  courses,  however,  form 
welcome  relief  to  the  prolific  elephant  grass  that  covers 
hills  and  valleys.  Looked  down  upon  from  a  distance 
these  extended  forests  present  a  rich  variety  of  tints. 
Winter  is  never  seen,  for  when  old  age  strikes  the 
branches,  the  tree  breaks  forth  into  its  second  childhood 
under  the  influence  of  the  sun's  rays.  But  on  enteiing 
beneath  the  shade  of  these  tempting  oases,  one  realizes  a 
feehng  of  disappointment,  for  everything  appears  to  have 
outgrown  its  beauty.  Powerful  and  unkempt  creepers 
and  rubber  plants  have  wound  their  long  bare  limbs  like 
poisonous  snakes  round  the  barks  and  branches  of  the 
trees  till  the  vegetation  has  ceased  to  breathe  in  their  grasp, 

44 


i  '■' 


The  Country 

and  nas  withered  away.    Then  the  mischievous  little 
monkeys  as  they    frolic  ar.dsc.nper  about  leave  such 

litter  behind  1  .    .  ^  tv.« 

Toro  is  almost  entirely  void  of  .solateo  rees.  The 
annual  grass  fires  that  are  lighted  to  clear  the  country 
?or  the  sowing  of  the  crops  have  given  them  no  chance  of 
an  existence.  ,     .  .. 

Banana  groves  are  gradually  spnngmg  up  over  he 
country,  for  the  Batoro  are  emulating  the  example  of  the 
Baganda  in  adopting  the  unsweetened  banana  called 
•<  Matoke  "  as  their  staple  food.  Formerly  they  lived 
entirely  on  "Bura,"  a  small  millet  which  possesses  a 
very  low  percentage  of  nutritive  quality.  The  only 
thing  that  commends  it  is  the  infinitesimal  amount  of 
labour  needed  for  its  cuHvation.  and  th>s  is  the  chief 
consideration  of  these  folk.  They  grind  the  gram 
between  two  stones  which  gradually  crumble  away  in  the 
process,  making  the  food  when  cooked  hardly  distinguish- 
able  from  boiled  sand. 

Ruwenzori  gives  the  whole  kingdom  of  Toro  a  very 
plentiful  water  supply.    The  streams,  flowing  down  from 
the  ever-melting  snow  and  ice.  unite  and  form  clear  and 
swift  rivers  which  provide  the  land  with  pure  cold  >^ter 
but  at  the  same    time    make  the  country  difficult  for 
travelling  about  in.      The  crude  bridges  '"ade Jby  *he 
natives  get  washed  away  in  the  rainy  season,  which  often 
monopolises  nine  months  out  of  the  twelve.    The  moun- 
tains seem  to  attract  every  cloud  that  rises  above  the 
horizon.    Nature  indulges  inmost  f '"^.^^'^.PX  ' 
out  there.     There  may  be  a  perfectly  bright   cloudless 
afternoon,  when  suddenly  it  looks  as  if  all  the  clouds  of 
heaven  had  been  unchained  and  .et  loose.     From  every 
direction  they  gather  in  impenetrable  b kckness     then 
girding  themselves  with  fury,  they  burst  forth  and.  with 
ahurricane  in  their  wake,  menace  Toro  with  a  few  angry 
tears  of  passion  and  break  with  roars  of  thunder  and 

45 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 


'  (■ 


tongues  of  fire  on  Ruwen2ori's  side.  Failing  to  ihake 
that  mo  mtain  ridge,  they  rebound  and  empty  themselvet 
upon  Kabarole.  In  a  few  minutes  the  whole  country  tt 
a  wash-out  ;  the  hills  send  down  sheets  of  water,  and  lo 
do  our  thatched  roofs.  Unlesis  these  are  under  constant 
repair,  al;  oui  little  h\-- '^  ./oys,  when  they  see  a  storm 
cming,  are  armed  with  pots,  pans,  basins,  and  dishes, 
and  stand  about  in  the  rooms  to  catch  the  rain  water, 
and  so  save  themselves  ^he  trouble  of  going  to  the  spring. 
One  afternoon  a  terrible  thunderstorm  broke  over 
Toro ;  the  force  of  one  clap,  which  was  simultaneous  with 
the  most  vivid  lightning,  was  mdescribable.  A  thunder 
bolt  seemingly  had  fallen  just  over  our  heads  and  sounded 
as  if  a  million  dynamite  explosi^'es  had  burst  over  us. 
Scarcely  had  one  recovered  from  the  momentary  shock, 
when  the  dreaded  sound  "  Tera  enduru  "  was  heard ;  this 
is  a  fire  alarm  which  the  natives  produce  by  clapping  their 
lips  with  the  palm  of  their  hand.  Hastening  outside,  we 
saw  clouds  of  smoke  issuing  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maddox's 
house,  which  adjoined  ours.  Not  waiting  for  hats  or 
umbrellas,  we  hurried  across  to  the  yard,  where  boys  and 
girls  were  rushing  frantically  about;  Mrs.  Maddox  was  in 
bed  with  fever  m  the  very  room  where  the  fire  had  broken 
out.  Her  room  was  blaxing  away,  while  she  was  asleep, 
unconscious  of  her  danger.  Wrapping  her  in  blankets, 
we  managed  to  have  her  carried  across  to  our  house. 
The  lightning  had  struck  the  corner  of  the  room,  instantly 
igniting  the  thatch,  poles,  and  bamboo  ceiling ;  the  flash 
had  travelled  through  the  room,  just  escaping  the 
bed,  but  singeing  a  little  Bible  on  the  table  close  by. 
Really,  her  escape  was  nothing  less  than  a  miracle.  In  a 
vfry  short  time  the  Katikiro  was  on  the  spot  with  bis 
men,  and  we  all  worked  hard  at  carrying  out  the  things. 
To  save  the  house  was  an  impossibility.  It  was  merely  a 
fight  wi^h  time  and  fire — pulling  down  pa  king  cases  and 
books,    carrying  out   stores,  boxes,   bedding,  clothing, 

46 


The'^Cotmtfy 

crockery ,  table*,  and  chaira,  and  feeling  the  flames  were 
quickly  devouring  all  that  lay  in  their  way.  When 
almost  the  last  item  was  out,  we  were  ordered  away,  and 
with  a  crash  the  end  of  the  roof  fell  in,  while  the  flanaes 
ascended  in  one  solid,  angry  mass.  Meanwhile,  the  King 
had  posted  an  army  of  men  to  guard  our  house,  and  fan 
away  all  sparks  with  large  banana  leaves.  All  this  had 
taken  but  fifteen  minutes,  so  you  can  imagine  the  rapidity 
with  which  everyone  had  worked.  The  only  things  burnt 
were  a  tent  and  camp-bed,  which  had  been  stored  in  the 
roof,  and  were  quite  unreac  rable. 

Fortunately,  this  happened  just  ten  days  before  they 
were  due  to  leave  for  England,  so  they  were  not  homelea 

for  long.  . 

The  whole  of  Toro  seemed  to  crowd  into  our  court, 
congratulating  us  all  on  our  escape,  and  thanking  God  for 
protecting  «^     You  will  easily  imagine  how  dead  beat  we 
were  when  the  day  was  over,  and  how  we  welcomed 
sleep;  but  this  was  not  to  be  for  long,  for  at  12.0  mid- 
night  the  same  alarm  of  fire  awakened  us,  and  tearing  on 
our  dressing  gowns  and  slippers,  we  found  Mr.  Fisher's 
women's  house  a  conflag     ion.    This  wa-  truly  terrify- 
ing,  ae   t  was  in  such  close  proxiirHy  to  his  own  house; 
while,  a   the  house  was  entirely  i,     >     '  g^ass  an'  reeds, 
the  flames  were  more  rapid  anc      .  s^      Black  agures, 
silh)uetled  against  the   flaming  ^  t  t?-  -    I,  were  seen 
wild.y  scrambling  up  on  to  these  tv,c    '""s  beating  away 
the  flames  and  sparks.    It  really  seemo^:  an  impossibility 
to  save  either,  especially  when  you  heard  people  shouting 
"  Muije  okutukonyera  enju  yahya  "  ("  Come  and  help  us. 
the  house  is  on  the  point  of  burning.")   But  I  am  glad  U> 
say  the  God  of  D-V  /erancc    was  again      .h  us  to  savt, 
and  to  show  forth  His  power.      Noth:  -  was  lost  tat 
the  women",  house,  and  the  possessions  and  clothing  of 
the  seven  women.     In  the  morning,  this  was  found  to  be 
a  case  of  incendiarism ;  a  small  girl,  who  ha^  recently 

47 


f  ! 


.«^{' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

left  through  stealing,  had  set  fire  to  the  house  to  revenge 
herself  on  the  women. 

These  things  are  a  little  bit  upsetting  to  one's  nerves; 
the  constant  earthquakes  and  terrific  thunderstorms  keep 
one  always  girded  for  flight.  One  afternoon  the 
missionaries  had  met  together  for  afternoon  tea,  and 
suddenly  there  was  a  slight  underground  murmur,  and 
the  house  shook  as  if  it  trembled.  There  were  three 
windows  and  one  door  to  the  room,  and  out  of  them  the 
three  men  instantly  disappeared;  they  looked  rather 
shaken  when  they  came  back  for  their  tea.  It  was  agreed 
not  to  let  out  names ! 

On  the  western  wide  of  Ruwenzori,  and  close  to  the 
base  of  that  mountain  range,  are  boiling  springs  contain- 
ing a  considerable  proportion  of  sulphur.  The  natives 
have  discovered  their  medicinal  properties  for  skin 
diseases  and  have  digged  channels  so  as  to  divert  part  of 
the  water  into  trenches  or  pits  where  thev  can  sufliciently 
cool  it  for  oathing  purposes.  They  alsv  carry  their  food 
down  to  the  springs,  and  in  a  short  time  the  plantains  or 
potatoes  are  cooked  and  ready  for  ( 

Lying  as  it  do«s  on  the  Equator,  Toro  experiences 
scarcely  any  change  of  seasons  all  the  year  round,  and  in 
consequence  of  its  being  some  5.000  feet  above  sea  level, 
the  temperature  scarcely  rises  above  75-80"  Fahr.  in  the 
shade,  while  the  nights  are  oh  cold  enough  to  justify 
the  log  fires  that  the  Europeans  indulge  in.  The 
prodigious  and  constant  rainfalls  just  rob  the  country  of  a 
reputation  it  might  have  held  for  possessing  an  ideal 
climate  for  the  colonist  and  for  agricultural  purposes. 
Except  in  the  low-lying  marshy  districts,  Toro  is 
exceptionally  free  from  mosquitoes  and  malaria, 
and,  up  to  the  present,  not  one  case  of  sleeping  sickness 
has  been  known. 

The  soil  is  abnormally  rich.     Eucalyptus  seed  sown  in 
the   open    produces   trees   of   12.15ft.    in   18  months. 

48 


The  Country 


Strawberries  yield  two  and  three  plentifial  crops  annually, 
in  fact  growth  has  often  to  be  checked,  as  in  the  case  of 

cauliflowers,  which  need  transplanting  three  times  if  fruit 
is  to  be  obtained.  Excellent  cofiFee  is  grown  in  the 
country,  and  a  very  limited  amount  of  inferior 
wheat.  There  is  no  reason  why  rice  should  not  Le 
successfully  cultivated  in  the  swampy  soil,  and  tea  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains.  The  great  obstacle  to  the 
developing  of  industries  at  present  is  the  difficulty  of 
transport  to  the  districts  where  there  is  a  profit-yielding 
demand.  No  minerals  have  yet  been  discovered  with  the 
exception  of  an  appreciable  amount  of  iron,  which  the 
people  have  instinctively  learned  to  work ;  they  are  able 
to  turn  out  good  spear  heads,  hoes,  knives,  and  even 
rough  needles  of  clumsy  proportions. 

This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  world's  natural 
zoological  gardens.  Huge  herds  of  elephants,  sometimes 
numlering  200  or  300,  trundle  through  the  tiger  gra.««s; 
leopards  and  lions  may  be  heard  at  night  roaring  after 
their  prey,  sometimes  even  round  the  capital ;  crocodiles 
and  hippopotami  infest  the  lakes;  monkeys  and 
chimpanzees  scamper  about  the  forests  ;  snakes  lie  coiled 
up  in  the  long  grass ;  and  everywhere  teems  insect  life, 
from  the  infinitesimal  jigger  to  the  locust.  Lions  are 
feared  less  by  the  people  than  leopards.  In  Bunyoro, 
where  lions  showed  a  leaning  towards  human  flesh  and 
blood,  the  King  or  Chief  of  the  infested  district  used  to 
send  out  two  black  cows  or  calves,  and  the  lions,  after 
having  tasted  their  blood,  no  longer  troubled  the  people, 
^  :t  dieted  from  that  time  on  pigs  and  hyenas. 

Toro  is  still  in  the  infancy  of  its  development;  the 
land,  its  resources,  the  people,  and  their  possibilities  are 
fields  that  give  promise  of  a  harvest  of  rich  fruition  to 
those  who  go  to  labour  with  mind  and  will. 


49 


CHAPTER  VI 
Home   Life 


LIFE  in  Africa  offers  as  sharp  a  contrast  as  is  possible 
to  imagine  to  the  rush  and  bustle  of  the  old 
country.  Perhaps  this  is  one  of  the  earliest 
impressions  that  strikes  one  when  coming  straight 
from  a  large  and  noisy  household  in  the  Metropolis.  The 
keynote  of  this  country  is  "  mpora,  mpora " — "  slowly, 
slowly,"  and  its  effects  are  seen  and  felt  everywhere. 
Time  is  of  no  consequence  or  value  to  the  people.  The 
wheels  of  life  revolve  so  slowly  that  I  felt  as  if  my  whole 
being  had  been  pulled  up  with  a  jerk.  The  clockwork  <^ 
activity  had  to  be  allowed  to  run  down  gradually,  in  order 
to  fall  into  correspondence  with  things  around. 

Having  left  England  just  after  Christmas,  with  its 
memories  of  busy  thoroughfares  streaming  with 
lights  from  the  gaily  decorated  shops,  and  teem- 
ing with  folks  big  and  small  all  chattering  and 
preparing  for  the  festive  season,  I  had  scarcely  had 
time  to  forget  all  this  noise  and  rattle  before 
arriving  at  the  antipodes  of  existence.  Step  out  of 
the  house  one  evening  with  me  at  about  8.0.  Miles 
and  miles  of  country  lie  faintly  outlined  by  the  phantom 
light  of  the  moon — that  orb  of  death.  No  other  spark  or 
ray  breaks  the  long,  wide  expanse  of  darkness,  and  Al  the 
land  and  natuie  lie  in  profound  sleep :  no  song  of  mirth 
or  infant's  cry  reaches  us,  everything  is  mute  and  ev»y- 
where  is  sleeping. 


-I'^rW'^.    "1 


Home  Life 

Suddenly  a  shrill  shriek  from  the  hyena  or  a  leopard's 
low  growl  drives  us  indoors.  Oh  for  the  rumble  of  a 
London  'bus  or  the  rush  of  the  Irish  express  as  it  passes 
the  old  home  in  a  mad  hurry  night  after  night.  There  is 
the  faithful  companionship  of  a  scratchy  pen,  so  that  is 
how  one  generally  turns  out  a  voluminous  correspondent 
in  these  parts  of  silent  Africa. 

Now  let  that  same  pen  tell  something  of  our  home  and 
various  domestic  odds  and  ends.  Our  house  was  built 
of  wood  and  mud  daub  with  a  roof  of  thatch.  The  room? 
five  in  number,  were  lofty  and  fairly  large,  with  walls 
which  could  be  called  neither  straight  nor  smooth — in  fact 
they  rather  reminded  me  of  "  Uncle  Podger's  "  wall  that 
looked  as  if  it  hid  been  smoothed  down  with  a  garden 
rake  after  he  had  be^n  hanging  a  picture.  But  ours  were 
whitewashed,  and  this,  at  least,  gave  them  a  clean  and 
cheerful  appearance.  The  fact  was  that  a  violent  storm 
had  slightly  blown  the  walls  out  of  gear  before  the  ground 
had  sufficiently  hardened  round  the  framework  poles. 
The  windows  were  ingeniously  made  of  wood  with  calico 
nailed  across  as  a  substitute  for  glass.  We  had  only  one 
door  to  start  with — the  front  door — made  of  the  unpolished 
and  unplaned  material  of  two  packing  cases,  ornamented 
with  the  npmes  and  destinations  of  the  ov  .iers  of  the 
boxes.  There  was  a  verandah  all  round  the  house  which 
kept  it  cool  from  the  midday  sun. 

Really,  it  was  a  marvellous  building  when  you  consider 
that  the  workmen  had  never  built  anything  different  from 
the  round  beehive  grass  and  reed  huts  in  which  the 
people  live.  The  poles  had  all  to  be  brought  in  from  a 
forest  seven  miles  away,  and  were  carried  in  on  men's 
heads.  The  mud  was  beaten  by  their  bare  feet.  They  had 
to  be  overlooked  at  every  pomt  and  turn  as  they  have  no 
idea  of  work,  or  even  a  straight  line,  unless  the  European 
is  actually  on  the  spot  to  show  them.  And  when  that 
European  was  absolutely  alone  and  endeavouring  to  act 

61 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 


H   r 


-P  I    '■ 


as  pastor,  teacher,  and  schoolmaster  to  hundreds  of  ^ger 
and  teachable  people,  the  question  is  how  he  ever  squeezed 
in  time  to  build  this  and  his  own  house. 

Our  tent  furniture  was  far  too  diminutive  and  scanty  to 
fill  our  five  rooms,  so  we  turned  cabinet-makers,  and  pro- 
duced some  highly  creditable  articles,  all  things 
considered. 

Piling  up  six  packing  cases  of  uniform  size,  and  nailing 
round  strips  of  native  grass  matting,  we  had  a  splendid 
"  Liberty  "  bookcase. 

A  "cosy  corner"  was  made  out  of  two  more  boxes 
turned  upside  down,  stuffed  with  shavings  and  covered 
with  cretonne.  It  looked  very  comfortable  but  rather 
belied  its  name. 

Our  dining-room  table  consisted  of  the  lids  of  cases 
joined  up  and  nailed  to  four  posts  planted  in  the  mud 
floor.  After  a  few  weeks  the  legs  took  root,  and  the 
young  branches  supplied  novel  decorations. 

We  framed  a  few  large  photographs  in  reeds  and  hung 
them  where  the  walls  were  flat  enough. 

The  nights  in  Toro  are  cold,  for  although  we  are  only 
i'5  degrees  lat.  North,  the  capital  is  5,000  leet  above  sea 
level.  In  consequence  the  houses  are  built  with  brick 
chimneys.  With  a  bright  log  fire  burning  in  the  open 
hearth  and  a  comfortable  arm  chair  our  sitting-room 
looked  very  cosy  and  bright.  It  is  quite  remarkable  the 
amount  of  enjoyment  one  can  derive  out  of  things  which 
cost  nothing  but  a  little  hard  work  and  a  good  deal 
harder  thinking  out. 

One  learns  sometimes  from  rather  trying  experiences 
that  several  things  which  have  been  regarded  as  absolute 
essentials  in  England  can  so  easily  be  dispensed  with  out 
here. 

A  lot  of  things  brought  out  from  home  reached  me  in  a 
hopelessly  wrecked  condition.  As  I  have  said  before,  on 
account  of  the  scarcity  of  porters  we  had  been  obliged  to 

52 


Home '  Life 


leave  several  boxes  behind.  Three  of  the  twenty-three 
I  had  left  were  never  again  heard  of.  As  these  were  food 
supplies  I  hoped  they  nourished  some  of  the  half-famished 
natives  we  passed  up  country.  But  the  cases  that  did 
arrive  had  been  exposed  without  protection  from  the 
rains,  and  were  absolutely  rotten  when  they  reached  me ; 
the  zinc  linings  had  been  destroyed  by  rust,  and  the  con- 
tents reduced  to  pulp.  In  a  sort  of  mechanical  way  I 
sorted  out  the  different  things,  throwing  aside  books, 
letters,  clothing,  and  nick-nacks  on  the  rubbish  heap. 
Some  things  could  never  be  replaced — little  recollections 
of  the  past  and  home-links.  How  reluctantly  were  these 
cast  out ! — but  God  showed  me  that  ths  was  known  and 
allowed  by  Him,  and  when  once  He  snows  us  this,  the 
sunshine  bursts  forth  and  the  heart  rejoices.  It 
strengthens  one  all  round  when  sometimes  the  temporal 
is  shattered  to  allow  the  Invisible  and  Eternal  to  appear. 
I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  that  our  missionary 
example  St.  Paul  had  had  all  his  loads  spoilt  by  shipwreck 
when  he  wrote :  "  I  have  learned  in  whatsoever  state  I 
am  therewith  to  be  content ;  not  that  I  speak  in  respect 
of  want." 

On  another  occasion  when  our  annual  supplies  from 
England  were  within  one  day's  march  of  Toro  the  porters' 
shed  was  burnt  down  and  all  our  loads  but  two  were 
destroyed. 

Now,  as  to  food,  there  are  just  three  items  you  can 
buy  out  here :  goats,  or  sheep  that  have  not  an  ounce  of 
Cat  except  in  their  tails.  These  cost  about  2s.  8d. 
Chickens,  which  provide  sufficient  flesh  tor  one  person's 
meal  of  very  normal  appetite,  can  be  purchased  for  fifty 
cowrie  shells  (i^.),  twenty  eggs  for  the  same  price,  but 
these  are  not  often  cheap,  as  very  frequently  they  are 
brought  for  sale  when  they  will  not  hatch. 

Of  course  our  store  room,  furnished  from  England,  is 
our  grocer;  the  garden   answers   to   greengrocer    and 


W  ' 


U    I 


if 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

fruiterer,  for  it  produces  nearly  everything ;  crops  can  be 
had  in    constant    succession    if  care  is  taken  to  sow 
systematically.    We  also  have  from  our  cows  a  constant 
supply  of  fresh  butter,  cream,  and  milk  which  is  churned 
on  the  premises  in  a  native  gourd.     Besides  this  we  are 
our    own    bakers.     Flour    is    grown    in    limited    and 
fluctuating  quantities  in  the  country.    This  is  ground  up, 
mixed  with  carbonate  of  soda  and  buttermilk,  baked  in  a 
native  pot  with  fire  above  and  under,  and  in  less  than  an 
hour  a  very  decent  wholemeal  loaf  is  ready  for  afternoon 
tea. 

The  only  drawback  is  that  most  of  these  departments 
of  industry  have  to  be  worked  by  one's  self.  It  is  rather 
curious  the  number  of  professions  a  European  holds  out 
here,  simply  because  he  must,  there  is  no  one  else  to  do 
it.  The  natives  have  such  exalted  ideas  of  the  powers  of 
a  white  man,  that  they  appeal  to  him  in  every  difficulty. 

The  first  week  we  had  brought  to  us  an  umbrella  to  be 
re-covered,  one  watch  with  broken  mainspring  needing 
repair,  a  lamp  to  be  soldered,  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  sick  people  wanting  medicine,  and  one  raving  mad- 
man I 

The  servant  question  was  one  that  had  to  be  faced 
immediately  on  our  arrival,  so  we  decided  to  write  up  to 
the  King  and  Namasole.  In  reply,  four  young  girls  were 
sent  down  who  did  nothing  but  weep  in  spite  of  our 
kindly  assurances  of  friendliness.  They  had  never  seen 
white  ladies  before,  and  were  literally  scared  at  us. 
They  all  ran  away  during  the  first  night !  So  we  had  to 
keep  on  our  road-boys  until  we  had  won  the  confidence 
of  the  women.  We  sometimes  wondered  if  we  should 
live  to  see  that  time ;  for  one  day  a  cabbage  was  sent  to 
table  that  had  been  cooked  in  about  one  pound  of  soda. 
The  cook  had  seen  the  European  put  a  pinch  in  the  water, 
and  judging  the  diminutive  quantity  was  with  an  eye  to 
ecoaomy,  determined  on  giving  us  a  liberal  treat  for  once  I 

54 


Home  Life 

Our  best  "  cosy  "  was  served  up  at  another  meal  as  a 
dish  cover  to  the  roast  chicken  1 

It  is  not  often,  however,  that  they  knowingly  deviate 
from  the  model  lesson  given  them;  they  sometimes  err 
too  faithfully  on  the  other  side  by  reproducing  the 
European's  mistakes  and  never  improving  on  them.  If 
you  have  once  taught  them  a  heavy  pastry,  your  pies 
will  always  have  that  same  unfortunate  crust  in  spite  of  a 
more  successful  second  lesson.  They  believe  absolutely 
in  reverting  to  original  type.  However,  this  is  a  one- 
sided view  of  the  little  black  cooks.  Imagine  an  English 
lad  of  twelve  serving  up  a  six-ccurse  dinner  as  these  little 
fellows  can,  after  some  training ;  and  with  such  a  kitchen 
range,  three  bricks  or  stones  and  some  twigs,  and  a  very 
limited  storeroom.  Give  a  Toro  cook  a  leg  of  goat  and 
he  can  turn  out  a  most  satisfying  meal  of  varieties — goat 
soup,  goat  curry,  goat  stewed,  goat  boiled  and  roast ;  and 
then  if  you  want  one  more  course,  give  him  flour,  eggs, 
milk,  and  a  little  butter,  and  he  could  send  you  in  goat 
pie  and  goat  pudding,  or  pancakes,  boiled  or  baked  batter, 
boiled  or  baked  sponge  pudding. 

If  you  live  on  poor  food  in  Toro,  you  must  not  blame 
the  country  or  your  cook,  but  yourself,  that  you  did  not 
arm  against  the  future  by  occasional  visits  to  your 
English  kitchen.  That  is  by  far  the  best  way  of  learning ; 
cookery  lectures  and  cookery  books  are  not  much  use  for 
a  country  like  this ;  they  generally  tell  you  to  "  take " 
something  you  have  not  got  and  cannot  get,  and  on  that 
seems  to  depend  the  success  of  the  recipe.  Often  have  I 
recalled  the  long,  tiring  hours  spent  in  learning  to  knead 
bread,  and  then  the  patience  of  waiting  for  it  to  rise  ;  we 
should  be  eating  tinned  biscuits  (like  our  predecessors) 
till  this  day  if  our  bread  depended  on  that  method  out 
here. 

Vegetables  form  rather  an  important  part  in  the  daily 
diet ;  in  fact,  one  is  inclined  to  be  a  vegetarian  where 

55 


• 


11 


f  n 


U  f 


If 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

vegetables  are  so  plentiful  and  meat  very  tough  and 
tasteless.  On  some  occasions  fifteen  different  kinds  have 
been  sent  to  table  at  a  meal.  They  are  all  cooked  in  one 
large  earthen  pot,  each  vegetable  being  tied  up  in  a  large 
banana  leaf  with  water— the  leaf  is  water-proof  and  made 
soft  and  pliable  by  passing  it  through  the  fire. 

The  white  ants  and  snakes  show  marked  appreciation 
for  the  Europeans'  houses.  In  spite  of  digging  deep 
trenches  round  outside,  the  ants,  which  are  supposed  to 
travel  only  a  few  inches  under  the  surface  soil,  manage  to 
get  at  the  poles  and  so  gradually  undermine  the  safety  of 
the  walls.  Ihey  are  the  most  indefatigable  workers.  In 
one  night  the  floor  of  a  room  will  be  covered  with  little 
heaps  of  soil  which  they  have  carried  up ;  a  mackintosh 
coat  was  half  eaten  away  by  these  little  pests  that  had 
discovered  it  on  a  peg  behind  the  bedroom  door. 
Sulphur,  hot  water,  Keating,  pepper,  thrown  down 
proved  quite  ineffectual  in  driving  them  off.  The  natives 
advised  a  European  to  leave  the  little  ant-heaps  for  a  few 
days  until  a  crop  of  small  mushrooms  appeared  on  the 
ant-heaps,  and  that  would  satisfy  the  ants  and  off  they 
would  go  to  begin  their  work  elsewhere.  The  experiment 
was  tried,  with  the  result  that  on  the  third  day  the  floor 
was  covered  with  tiny  white  fungi,  and  the  ants  really 
did  disappear  after  that.  I  will  not  attempt  to  explain 
the  reason  scientifically. 

More  stringent  measures  than  passive  resistance  were 
needed  far  the  snakes  that  came  and  built  under  the 
sitting  room  floor.  Their  appearance  was  first  discovered 
by  one  of  them  leaving  his  top  coat  behind  him  in  one  of 
the  rooms. 

One  evening  we  were  roused  from  our  peaceful  occupa- 
tions hearing  two  rifle  reports  and  a  regular  stampede 
outside  our  house;  we  rushed  to  the  door,  but  were 
quickly  told  to  shut  it  up,  as  a  leopard  was  rushing  about. 
Two  shots  had  been  fired,  but  missed  it.    A  large  search 


Home  Life 

party  was  formed  of  excited,  frightened   natives  with 
spears,  rifles,  and  long  torches,  but  all  their  endeavours 
were  in  vain.     Three  nights  after  that  another  and  even 
larger  leopard  prowled  round  the  houses,  entered  the 
donkey  stables  and  dragged  out  a  small  baby  donkey. 
In  the  morning  an  awful  sight  met  our  gaze  on  the  path 
outside  the  stabling.    The  two  hind  legs  had  been  com- 
pletely eaten  and  the  body  torn  open ;  the  ground  was 
covered  with  blood,  and  many  claw  marks  weie  visible. 
The  war  drum  was  beaten,  and,  according  to  the  law  of 
the  country,  all  the  men  turned  out,  from  the  chiefs  to 
the  poorest  peasant,  armed  with  spears  and  clubs.     The 
excitement   was  intense,   the  King's  Hill  was  thronged 
with  dancing,  rushing  natives,  singing  war   songs  and 
making  dashing  on;  laughts  toward  imaginary  foes.    They 
all  danced  and  rushed  in  step,  accomplishing  the  curious 
body  dance  in   perfect  order.    They  tracked  the  beast 
and  Mr.  Fisher,  who  had  led  out  the  party,  shot  it  as  it 
gave  one  spring  from  its  lair.    The  return  home  was  a 
yell  of  victory,  all  assembling  under  the  large  tree  on 
the  top  of  the  King's  Hill  to  salute  the  Katikiro  (Chief 
Minister),  who  sat  in  state  to  wait  the  arrival  of  the  prey. 
Afterwards    all    the    wounded   were    brought    to    the 
dispensarj'    for    surgical    attention;    one    arm    was    so 
severely  cut  with  spears  and  torn  by  the  leopard's  claw8 
that  I  had  to  iilitch  it  up.     Leopard's  claws  are  very 
poisonous,  and  mfl^  mmation  immediately  sets  in  ;  many 
cases  prove  fatal  on  account  of  blood  poisoning. 

Just  one  word  more  before  closing  this.  Life  out  here 
is  not  one  of  ccnstant  "roughing  it."  No  girls  in 
England  could  have  been  happier  than  we  were,  and 
there  are  heaps  of  things  that  make  up  for  some  left  in 
Merrie  England. 

For  instance,  a  punt  down  the  Thames  is  not  to  be 
compared  to  a  paddle  in  a  dug-out  canoe  or  a  sail  in  the 
same  by  a  square  of  calico  hoisted.    There  is  a  delightful 

57 


m\ 


:IA 


On  the  Borders  of  Pismy  Land 

lake  right  away  among  the  m  >iintaini,  only  five  miles  oB, 
and  DC  one  ever  enjoyed  a  lunch  like  the  one  we  had  ia 
the  little  reed  bungalow  on  the  shore.  Our  first  picnic 
there  was  unique.  The  lunch  was  provided  by  the 
Government  officials,  and  really,  I  had  nevrr  imagined 
men  were  so  domesticated  They  superintend.  '  the 
culinary  arrangements.  The  \dministrator  made  a  meat 
pie,  the  crust  of  which  rai^ht  have  been  improved; 
another  produced  a  sort  of  trifle ;  while  a  third  manu* 
factured  scones ;  and  we  trifd  not  to  notice  the  lack  of 
baking  powder.    But  we  survucd  all  three. 


68 


Ml 


CHAPTER  VII 
Royal  Life 

KABAROLE,  the  capital  ol  Toro,  may  be  described 
as  a  city  of  hills.  On  the  highest  of  these,  com- 
manding a  panoramic  view  of  the  country  north» 
south,  and  east  of  Ruwenxori,  stands  the  palace 
of  King  Daudi  Kasagama.  The  Uganda  Protectorate 
differs  from  Nigeria  and  the  other  west  coast  districts,  in 
that  it  possesses  no  old-established  cities  and  towns.  The 
custom  of  the  Kings  of  each  of  the  four  independent 
Kingdoms  of  the  Protectorate  formerly  was  to  remove  the 
capital  as  each  succeeded  to  the  throne.  This  involved 
a  constant  exodus  of  the  people,  who  cleared  out  bodily 
in  order  to  be  close  to  their  King.  Scarcely  any  tracei 
can  be  found  of  the  previous  capitals,  as  the  houses  were 
constructed  merely  of  reeds,  poles  and  thatch,  which  offer 
no  resistance  to  the  destroying  hand  of  time ;  occasion* 
ally  a  worn  grinding-stone  or  a  broken  cooking-pot  it 
met  with  among  waving  elephant  grass  that  immediately 
assumed  mastery  of  the  ground  on  the  removal  of  the 
people. 

In  1891  Kasagama  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Toro, 
which  was  then  being  plundered  and  ravaged  by  the 
Kabarega,  the  neighbouring  and  powerful  King  of 
Unyoro.  For  some  years  the  whole  district  was  dis- 
tressed by  the  merciless  tyranny  of  the  raiders,  and  the 
people  were  obliged  to  flee  to  the  shelter  of  the  moon- 
tains.  Now  peace  and  order  reign,  the  security  and 
authority  of  the  King  and  his  counsellors    have   been 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0 


I.I 


Hi 


1^ 

■  40 


1-25   111.4 


2.5 
2.2 

2.0 


1.8 


1.6 


ji     >1F'PLIED  IN/MUE     Ir 


165.'   tjsl   Main    SIrrel 
Rochester.   Ne*   Yofh        U609 
(716)   «8J  -  0300  -  Phone 
(716)   288  -  5989  -  Fa. 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

established  by  the  British  Government,  and  the  country 
sown  on  all  hands  with  the  seed  of  Christianity  which  has 
effected  a  complete  reformation  in  the  lives  and  condition 
of  the  people. 

The  King's  house  is  the  only  bri:k  building  at  present 
in  the  country.  It  is  two-storied,  with  walls  two  and  a 
half  feet  thick.  The  staircase  is  roughly  constructed  of 
bricks  and  runs  outside.  On  the  ground  floor  are  three 
rooms.  The  centre  one,  into  which  the  front  door  opens, 
is  the  reception  room.  The  walls  and  ceiling  are  gaily 
hung  with  bright  printed  calico  strips  of  varied  design 
and  colouring,  stitched  together.  Over  these  are  large, 
coloured  Bible  pictures  illustrating  the  life  of  Christ. 
On  the  floor  are  spread  grass  mats  and  leopards'  skins, 
which  are  the  sign  of  royalty.  An  Indian  rug  is  placed 
under  a  table  and  chair  in  one  corner  where  His  Majesty 
sits  and  receives  his  guests.  The  room  is  supplied  with 
no  other  furniture.  A  waiting-room  leads  off  from  this, 
which  is  unfurnished,  with  the  exception  of  a  native 
divan  made  of  reeds  for  important  or  sick  attendants ;  the 
others  lounge  about  on  the  fine,  soft  grass  strewn  on  the 
floor. 

Kasagama's  study  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  reception- 
room,  and  that  is  where  he  does  most  of  his  business 
and  carries  on  his  correspondence.  Upon  the  rows  of 
shelves  xed  to  the  wall  are  to  be  seen  small  piles  of 
documents  and  letters  received  from  his  chiefs  in  the  out- 
lying districts,  who  are  just  learning  to  write.  The 
boxes  at  the  end  of  the  room  contctin  all  his  treasured 
presents  received  from  the  Government  officials, 
missionaries  and  friends  in  England.  If  you  call  in  any 
afternoon  about  five  o'clock  and  are  a  friend  of  His 
Majesty  you  would  perhaps  be  allowed  into  this  sanctum, 
and  there  might  find  him  working  away  at  his  typewriter 
or  dictating  to  his  typist,  who  can  run  his  fingers  very 
rapidly  over  the  keyboard.      Kasagama  is  now  hard  at 

60 


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*/!*' 


m\*Mi 


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I     ! 


I  'tu 


if  ;•! 


Royal  Life 

work  writing  a  history  of  the  country.  To  prevent  any 
unauthentic  references  to  the  past  he  has  two  old  men, 
well  versed  in  ancient  lore,  to  refer  to. 

The  Council  Hall,  in  which  Parliament  assembles  everj' 
Monday,  is  in  an  adjoining  country,  and  this  is  a  large 
reed  structure  decorated  inside  with  coloured  calicos  like 
the  reception  room.  The  railed  off  partitions  are 
intended  for  the  King's  chair,  and  for  the  Queen  Mother 
or  Sister,  either  of  whom  is  expected  to  attend  each  week, 
The  Ministers  of  State  are  arranged  in  straight  rows  down 
the  building,  and  the  people  involved  in  the  various  cases 
brought  up  for  trial  come  and  kneel  in  the  wide  aisle 
which  leads  up  to  the  King's  seat. 

I  only  attended  once,  as  women  are  generally  debarred 
the  privilege,  but  the  first  thing  that  struck  me  was  how 
very  civilised  is  the  House  in  Toro  and  much  in  advance 
of  one's  own  native  land,  for  we  were  not  put  up  in  a 
third  gallery  behind  wire  caging  to  merely  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  Speaker's  head,  but  had  seats  given  us  next  to  the 
King  !  However,  there  was  a  sad  need  of  an  Opposition 
or  Nationalists'  Bench,  to  add  a  little  gusto  and  sensation 
to  the  proceedings.  To  make  up  for  this  at  the  conclusion 
of  each  case,  the  Royal  band  broke  out  into  uproarious 
melodies,  and  the  bandsmen  accompanied  their  instru- 
ments with  caricature  Irish  jigs. 

A  visit  to  the  King  must  always  include  an  inspection 
of  his  flower  garden,  of  which  he  is  very  proud.  It  dates 
back  to  our  arrival  in  Toro.  As  he  used  to  drop  in  for 
afternoon  tea,  he  would  often  find  us  armed  with  rake 
and  spade,  just  ready  to  tackle  the  patch  of  weeds  out- 
side our  house.  It  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  the  natives 
when  they  heard  that  the  white  ladies  were  "  cultivating," 
and  a  still  greater  wonder  when  they  learned  that  they 
were  not  sowing  food  but  flowers.  Whatever  was  the  use 
of  flowers  ?  However,  Kasagama  thought  it  must  be  the 
correct  thing,  so  one  day  ventured  to  beg  a  few  flower 

61 


'i: 


.  'J 


SH 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

seeds  to  start  a  garden  for  himself,  and  then  very 
hesitatingly  and  half  apologetically  he  asked  what  was 
the  exact  use  of  flowers,  as  he  wanted  to  have  an  answer 
ready  to  give  to  questioners .  However,  the  beauty  and 
fragrance  of  our  English  flowers  have  spoken  to  these 
people  and  awakened  in  their  hearts  a  real  admiration 
and  love,  so  that  outside  many  a  To  ^  homestead  now 
can  be  seen  borders  of  carefully  tended  flowers  ;  and  often 
prettily-arranged  bouquets  will  be  brought  by  them  as 
greetings  or  offerings.  At  Easter  time  one  result  of  this 
is  seen  in  th<;  Church.  On  the  Saturday  each  one  is 
asked  to  bring  in  the  decorations  and  to  help  arrange 
them.  The  first  time  this  wa ,  done  the  chancel  was 
simply  banked  with  bouquets,  wreaths,  and  bunches  of 
wild  or  cultivated  flowers;  palm  leaves  and  papyrus  grass, 
fixed  to  the  columns  of  reeded  poles  down  the  church, 
made  continued  arches  right  along  each  aisle,  while  the 
open  window  sills  were  fe.  'coned  with  wild  clematis. 
Mos'  of  this  was  done  entirely  by  the  natives. 

Court  life  in  Toro  has  a  very  attractive  home  side  to  it. 
One  can  scarcely  wish  for  a  more  touching  picture  than 
when,  the  affairs  of  State  being  over  for  the  day,  Damali, 
the  young  Queen,  comes  into  the  Royal  Palace  with  the 
little  Princess  Ruzi  (Ruth).  Ihe  Queen  first  bows  before 
her  husband- King,  and  the  tiny  child  follows  her  mother's 
example,  and  in  baby  language  greets  His  Majesty.  Then 
Kasagama  for  a  time  lays  aside  his  regal  dignity  and 
clasping  the  child  'n  his  arms  fondles  her  and  talks  and 
romps  like  a  big  school-boy. 

The  old  custom  of  the  men  and  women  feeding  apart 
has  disappeared  in  the  King's  household,  and  every 
evening  Kasagama  and  Damali  dine  together.  The  menu 
never  varies  from  one  year's  end  to  another.  Each  day 
the  King  has  hir.  own  particular  cut  from  the  goat, 
namely,  the  chops  and  cutlets,  and  the  Queen  has  a  leg. 
They  generally  manage  to  finish  their  joints,  besides  the 

62 


•ii 


Royal  Life 


quantities  of  boiled  ^lantains  and  various  native  vege- 
tables served  up  with  the  meat. 

Kasagama  has  recently  developed  distinct  sporting 
inclinations,  and  although  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  has 
made  his  name,  certain  it  is  he  has  made  his  mark  at 
them.  Tennis  was  the  first  pastime  he  indulged  in.  One 
court  was  enough  to  allure  anyone !  A  space  was 
thoroughly  cleared  of  vegetation  in  the  mission  compound 
and  beaten  by  foot  in  place  of  a  roller  ;  two  posts  were 
firmly  planted  in  the  ground,  a  rope  stretched  across  and 
strips  of  banana  pith  knotted  on  to  it,  hanging  down  like 
kippers  put  out  to  dry.  The  King  was  rather  too  power- 
ful with  his  racquets;  scouts  had  to  be  posted  like  fielders 
at  cricket.  Seeing  the  ball  coming  he  made  a  desperate 
plunge  toward  it  and  either  missed  it  altogether  or  slogged 
it  as  if  intended  for  Ruwenzori's  snows.  So  he  gave  that 
up  for  football ;  the  dimensions  of  the  ball  I  suppose 
appealed  to  him  as  being  more  adapted  to  his  size.  He 
is  now  a  great  player;  his  grief  is  that  he  has  never 
experienced  the  excitement  of  a  scrimmage,  as  the  men 
are  afraid  of  hustling  their  King  ;  the  only  member  of  the 
team  who  apparently  does  not  mind  doing  so  is  Blasiyo, 
the  pigmy !  Another  reason  is  that  there  is  little  chance 
of  getting  too  close,  as  he  is  followed  about  the  field  by 
one  attendant  who  holds  a  umbrella  over  his  head  :  nd 
another  man  careers  about  with  a  chair,  so  that  -lis 
Majesty  can  rest  when  the  ball  goes  in  an  opposite 
direction  of  the  field  to  where  he  happens  to  be. 

In  all  Church  work,  Kasagama  has  been  a  leader  and 
example  to  his  people.  Almost  daily,  at  8  a.m.  as  the 
people  gather  from  all  directions  for  Bible  Classes  or 
school  teaching,  a  procession  may  be  seen  slowly  issuing 
out  from  the  re^d  enclosure  that  surrounds  the  royal 
palace.  With  a  large  company  of  retainers  and  an 
armed  bodyguard  at  the  front  and  rear,  on  his  bay  steed 
rides  the  King,  a  fine  majestic  figure,  a8  years  of  age,  and 

63 


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! 

1 

1 

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il 

\ 

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W 

t     1 

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1 

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I'  I 

1 


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I     7 


--W' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pisfmy  Land 

6ft.  3in.  in  height.  The  Katikiro  and  other  importtnt 
Chiefs,  with  their  attendants,  if  they  have  not  alreaity 
started,  come  out  from  their  houses  on  their  side  of  th« 
King's  hill,  and  fall  in  behind  His  Majesty.  They  ar^ 
bent  on  no  Ministerial  business,  but  if  you  were  to  ask 
the  King,  he  would  say  "  to  learn  wisdom  from  God,  for 
how  can  I  rightly  rule  my  country  without  having  first 
received  that." 

When  the  drum  beats  for  Sunday  ser  ices,  Kasagama 
is  nearly  always  at  his  place  in  the  ch  '.  to  join  with 
his  people  in  prayer  and  worship.  1  aes  encouraging 
his  young  men  and  chiefs  to  offer  themselves  as  mission* 
aries  to  the  neighbouring  villages  and  districts,  he  helps 
in  every  possible  way  to  supply  the  necessary  means  in 
orde--  that  the  native  organisations  shall  be  supported  bv 
themselves.  When  the  large  reed  Church  showed  s" 
of  old  age,  Daudi  Kasagama,  like  his  namesake  David, 
King  of  Israel,  set  his  heart  to  "  build  a  house  unto  tbs 
name  of  the  Lord." 

Calling  together  his  Christian  Chiefs,  he  conferred 
with  the  Missionaries  as  to  the  quantities  of  material 
needed  for  a  large  Church,  and  when  the  approximate 
number  of  poles  was  given,  he  divided  it  up  asking  his 
Chiefs  each  to  be  responsible  for  a  proportion. 

The  new  "  Temple  "  was  not  to  be  built  of  carefully- 
hewn  stone,  prepared  bricks,  or  granite  pillars,  but  of 
forest  poles  brought  from  long  distances,  many  needing 
fifty  men  to  carry  them  in  ;  bamboos  from  the  forest-clad 
heights  of  snow-peaked  Ruwenzori ;  grass  brought  in  bf 
the  women  for  thatching ;  reeds  fetched  from  the  swamps 
by  men  and  children,  and  red  mud  for  the  walls.  Every 
morning  the  King  came  down  to  work  with  his  people  in 
the  erection  of  the  building,  and  when  the  framework 
was  completed,  helped  to  bring  in  the  grass  which  was 
cut  up  and  beaten  with  the  mud  to  form  a  kind  of  sdid 
bnck  wall. 

64 


fl 

^  ■ 

■■,'/ 


ml 


Royal  Lile 


At  8.0  a.m.  the  Katikiro,  Chiefs  and  others  made  their 
way  down  to  the  mud  pits,  into  which  there  was  thrown 
red  earth,  straw  and  water.  About  twenty  men  then 
would  jump  in,  clasp  arms  in  a  circle,  yell  a  native  air  and 
stamp  the  mud  with  their  bare  feet  till  the  right  con- 
sistency was  reached.  By  that  time  they  had  become 
splashed  and  disfigured  into  fearsome  representations  of 
painted  Red  Indians.  The  mud  was  then  put  into  baskets 
and  shouldered  by  a  body  of  carriers,  who  marched  single 
file  to  the  scene  where  the  building  operations  were  being 
carried  on,  while  a  drummer  always  went  on  before  to 
give  a  spirit  of  militarism  to  the  work. 

With  shirt  slee-  es  rolled  up,  Kasagama  and  an  army 
of  mud-layers  were  ready  to  receive  the  mud  and  slap  it 
into  the  walls  with  a  whoop  and  occasional  mutual  con- 
gratulatory exclamation  "  Wehale"— "  well  done." 

In  this  manner  the  Church,  holding  eight  hundred 
people,  was  completed  in  six  months  free  of  debt  and  not 
havit  g  caused  any  expense  to  the  Missionary  Society  1 

When  it  is  remembered  that  until  the  advent  of 
Christianity  six  years  previous,  the  King  and  Chiefs  had 
never  done  one  day's  manual  work,  one  can  only  regard 
this  Church  as  a  standing  testimony  to  the  reality  of  a 
religion  that  can  call  forth  such  a  spontaneous  demon- 
stration of  the  sincerity  of  its  disciples. 

One  day  while  watching  the  unmistakable  earnestness 
of  the  men  at  their  toil,  I  turned  to  Kasagama  and  said: 
"  King,  your  people  are  really  enjoying  their  hard  work." 
He  replied :  "  Oh  no,  my  people  have  not  yet  arrived  at 
liking  work,  but  they  are  rejoicing  because  this  is 
God's  house." 

Pending  the  arrival  of  the  Bishop,  an  informal  dedica- 
tion service  was  arranged  •  i  the  first  Sunday  of  its 
completion.  The  Church  was  packed  from  end  to  end, 
the  men  on  one  side  led  by  their  King,  the  women  on  the 
other  with  the  Queen  Damali.    A  great  stillness  fell  on 

65  9 


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\    i- 


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li 

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1 

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ii 

if 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

that  large  congregation  as  King  Daudi,  who  scarcely  ever 
takes  an  active  part  in  the  services,  rose  and  offered  up  a 
prayer  of  Consecration.  In  it  he  said  :  "  O  God,  we 
know  Thou  dwellest  not  in  temples  made  with  hands,  but 
this  House  has  been  built  with  our  hearts'  devotion; 
therefore  come  down  and  take  up  Thy  dwelliiig  place, 
that  sinners  entering  may  be  saved  by  Thy  presence." 

Kasagama  in  his  time  has  played  several  "parts." 
Two  days  after  the  opening  of  the  new  Church,  he  was 
called  upon  to  fill  a  position  in  a  novel  function  for  Toro, 
namely,  the  first  European  wedding.  A  great  deal  of 
excitement  had  prevail  d  for  some  time  among  the 
people,  and  whisperings  of  the  unique  event  had  filtered 
through  to  the  villages,  bringing  a  larp;e  number  of  people 
into  the  capital  out  of  curiosity.  It  was  a  beautiful 
clear  morning,  and  before  sunrise  the  bride  designate  was 
needlessly  reminded  of  the  day  by  a  loud  shuffling  and 
scurrying  going  on  outside  her  calico  window.  The 
Katikiro's  loud  baritone  was  heard  commanding  a  regi- 
ment of  workmen,  and  by  way  of  creating  an  excitement 
in  the  proceedings,  he  accompanied  his  orders  by 
eloquent  aerial  cracks  with  his  whip  of  hippo  hide. 

In  order  to  have  a  share  in  the  festive  preparations 
they  had  come  down  to  strew  fresh  cut  grass  all  round 
the  house,  in  the  courtyard  and  along  the  road  to  the 
church.  On  the  preceding  days,  the  chiefs*  wives, 
headed  by  the  Queen,  had  been  with  their  spades  levelling 
the  mud  floor  in  the  scarcely  completed  church  and 
carpeting  it  with  soft  green  grass.  It  was  a  welcome 
substitute  of  nature  for  the  customary  red  felt  drugget, 
and  no  one  would  have  exchanged  for  canvas  awning  the 
archway  of  palm  leaves  and  bushy  papyrus  grass  heads 
that  adorned  the  verandah  and  porch  leading  from  the 
ho-ise. 

All  the  Europeans  in  Toro  were  invited — they  numbered 
five — and  each  had  an   allotted  task.    One  performed 

66 


Royal  Life 


the  ceremony,  another  stood  as  best  man,  the  organist 
pedalled  away  nobly  at  the  portable  baoy  organ  and 
even  persuaded  it  to  produce  the  Wedding  March 
creditably.  There  was  one  bridesmaid,  and  the  fifth  took 
the  part  of  "  guest." 

At  9.0  a.m.  the  church  drums  beat,  and  King 
Kasagama,  dressed  in  a  cloud  of  white  and  elaborate  silk 
draperies,  came  down  to  act  "  father  "  to  the  bride.  His 
Majesty  looked  almost  pale  with  the  responsibility  of  his 
new  position,  and  scarcely  L.  usted  himself  to  speak  as  he 
took  his  "child's"  hand  and  led  her  from  the  house 
along  the  road  lined  with  crowds  of  his  excited  people. 
The  church  presented  a  sea  of  Mack  faces  and  white 
linen  garments  freshly  washed  foi  the  occasion.  Every- 
one was  standing,  for  th'ire  was  no  room  to  sit  down.  A 
Lunyoro  hymn  was  sung,  and  then  the  service  proceeded 
in  English  till  the  close,  when  the  faithful  old  native 
deacon  Apolo  offered   pra3'er   in   the  language  of  the 

people. 

The  usual  carriages  and  greys  had  to  be  dispensed 
with  as  the  livery  stables  were  a  little  too  far  off  I    But 
a   regulation  reception   took  place   and  about  seventy 
guests    crowded    into    the    very   limited    space    of   the 
European's  sitting  room.     A  real  iced  cake  specially  im- 
ported, was  mounted  on  a  stool  draped  with  trails  of  wild 
clematis.    Heaped  up  dishes  of  thick  sandwiches,  stodgy 
jam  tarts,  cakes  and  biscuits,  that  sugg(    ci  a  Sun  U*; 
School  treat  for  at  least  some  hundreds  of  hu».^ry  English 
"   bairns,  proved  a  scarcely  adequate  supply  for  the  visitors, 
who  started  on  the   cake,  then  tucked  in   sandwiches, 
jam  tarts  and  sandwiches  again,  and  so  on,  in  a  hopeless 
mix  up.    The  tea  was  served  round  time  after  time,  till 
the  guests,  out  of  sheer  inability,  had  reluctantly  to  refuse 
further  supplies.    One  chief,  with    a    sigh,   regretfully 
eyeing  a  dish  of  cake,  exclaimed:  "Okwongera  nukwo 
kufa  "_••  Any  more  would  be  death." 

67 


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»      il 

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'I  f  !i 


•v) 


'M 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

As  the  guests  departed,  timidly  limped  forward  old 
Mpisi,  the  first  dispensary  patient.  He  had  been  silently 
waiting  his  opportunity  to  slip  in  and  give  the  bride  his 
little  wedding  gift  of  five  cowrie  shells :  their  value  was 
one-third  of  a  farthing,  but  they  were  all  he  possessed. 

The  honeymoon  was  spent  "  on  the  Continent  "—the 
dark  continent  of  Africa,  a  trip  of  about  700  miles,  across 
lake  and  over  land,  visiting  a  continual  succession  of 
mission  stations.  It  included  a  visit  to  the  Government 
Capital  of  Entebbe,  where  an  official  repetition  of  the 
marriage  service  had  to  be  performed.  Fancy  being 
married  twice  within  one  month ! 

As  the  happy  pair  rode  off  on  mules,  actually  the 
customary  rice  followed  them.  A  mob  of  natives  enjoyed 
this  part  immensely;  but  some  of  the  women  ran  up,  and 
tearing  the  bracelets  and  necklaces  from  their  own  wrists 
and  necks,  gave  them  to  the  bride  with  sympathetic 

tears \ 

Even  the  slipper  was  not  wanting ;  it  was  delivered  to 
a  native  to  throw  at  the  couple  as  they  turned  off  at 
cross-roads,  but  not  quite  seeing  the  point,  and  having  a 
respectful  regard  for  the  shoe,  he  solemnly  presented  it  as 
a  parting  greeting  ft  ^m  the  Europeans  ! 


.-.(■ 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Women  of  Toro 

ALTHOUGH  undoubtedly  belonging  to  one  and  the 
same  parent  stock,  as  a  race  the  Batoro  are  in 
features  superior  to  the  Baganda,  but  physically 
inferior  owing  to  the  different  conditions  under  which 
their  lives  have  been  lived.  Women,  both  high  and  low, 
until  within  recent  years,  were  practically  the  slaves  of 
the  Baganda  households,  and  even  now  are  expected  to  do 
^  the  cultivating  and  cooking  of  the  food.  Before  the  sun 
has  risen  the  Baganda  women  start  on  their  digging  in 
their  banana  plantations  or  potato  fields.  This  has 
developed  their  muscles  and  at  the  same  time  had  a 
healthy  effect  on  the  mind,  for  no  one  can  handle  nature 
without  consciously  or  unconsciously  being  influenced  by 

it  for  good. 

The  Batoro  women,  on  the  other  hand,  have  been 
merely  the  chattels  of  the  home.  The  upper  classes 
scorned  menial  work  and  left  it  to  their  dependents  and 
peasant  folk.  The  middle  class  did  no  more  than  was 
absolutely  essential,  which  generally  resolved  itself  mto 
cooking  the  one  meal  for  the  day.  Their  homes  offered 
no  occupation  for  them.  The  rude  grass  huts  possessed  no 
furnishing,  for  their  wants  were  of  the  simplest.  Bark 
cloth  stripped  off  the  wild  fig  tree  and  beaten  out  into  a 
soft  texture,  or  animals  skins,  provided  them  with  clothing 
by  day  and  covering  at  night.  Their  water  vessels  consisted 
of  the  hollowed  out  gourds  that  grow  round  their  huts. 
One  cooking  pot  sufficed  for  the  household.    A  plaited 

6B 


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\  'Mi 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

grass  mat  took  the  place  of  mattress  over  a  bed  of  reeds 
strung  across  a  wooden  framework  and  built  in  along 
the  side  of  the  hut.  Grass  covered  the  floor  of 
every  house — seldom  changed  and  never  aired. 
Soot  and  cobwebs  hung  in  festoons  round  the 
inside,  as  there  are  no  chimneys  in  the  huts  to  carry  away 
the  smoke  from  the  open  fire  in  the  centre  of  the  floor. 

In  recent  years  the  upper  class  women  have  discarded 
the  barkcloth  as  apparel  for  white  calico  and  coloured 
prints.  When  these  garments  show  signs  of  wear  the 
general  custom  is  neither  to  wash  nor  change  them  for  fear 
of  hastening  their  end,  but  clean  draperies  are  thrown 
over  them  when  the  wearer  appears  in  public. 

Some  of  the  women  can  work  very  prettily  with  grass 
and  fibre.  Having  discovered  various  vegetable  dyes, 
they  are  able  to  make  very  attractive  designs  in  basket- 
work  by  dyeing  the  grass  different  colours.  The  fibre  they 
make  into  string  and  then  form  beautiful  knotted  bags  in 
which  they  have  their  gourds.  It  was  only  by  living 
some  time  among  them  that  we  discovered  these  hidden 
trophies  of  a  spasmodic  industry.  Very  few  care  about 
rousing  themselves  and  devoting  the  time  and  care 
needed  for  this  work ;  the  fault  of  the  women  is  their 
inherent  laziness  ;  the  generality  of  them  desire  nothing 
so  much  as  to  sit  still  and  do  absolutely  nothing.  They 
are  so  fond  of  begging,  begging,  begging,  but  when  you 
suggest  their  working,  off  they  go  and  you  never  see  them 
any  more.  Others  will  remain  in  their  homes  ill  for 
days,  and  no  one  will  have  the  energy  to  come  down  and 
ask  for  medicine.  An  industrial  exhibition  was  suggested 
by  two  of  our  missionaries  in  1903,  and  will  be  held  every 
year,  it  is  hoped.  Most  ingenious  bee-hives  and  rat  traps 
were  brought  in  as  exhibits,  besides  all  sorts  of  grass  and 
string  work,  painted  bark  cloths  and  gourda,  and  so  on. 
The  novelty  of  the  exhibition  caused  great  excitement 
among  the  people,  and  the  schoolroom  was  packed  to  its 

70 


''--:-Jfia?  ^..J»f* 


r 

f  ■■  ■ 

1'^ 

1 

'l.     ; 

l- 

li 

t 


The  Women  of  Toro 


utmost  capacity  with  competitors  and  others.  His 
Majesty,  Daudi  Kasagama,  opened  the  proceedings  with 
an  earnest  appeal  to  his  people  to  make  the  show  an 
even  greater  success  next  time  by  increasincr  the  number 
of  exhibits  and  raising  the  standard  of  proficiency. 

Before  the  advent  of  Christianity  there  had  been  nothing 
to  break  the  dull  monotony  of  the  women's  existence.  As  / 
they  sat,  day  after  day,  huddlod  together  in  thrir  dirty  little  , 
grass  homes,  their  conversation  scarcely  ever  ventured  out- 
side the  well-beaten  track  of  real  or  ima-inary  sickness,  and 
the  usual  revolting  topics  that  polygamy  and  heathenism 
suggest.  Modesty,  reserve,  shame  and  sensitiveness  were 
not  known  among  them.  One's  whole  nature  recoils 
from  the  recollection  of  Africa's  lost  womanhood. 

Girls  are  sometimes  bethrothed  as  infants  but  do  not 
marry  till  they  have  leached  the  age  of  14  or  15.     The 
husband  is  judged  rarely  according  to  his  merit— that 
receives  small  consideration— but  chiefly  according  to  hie 
means.    The  girl's  value  is  determined  by  her  rank  or 
physical   appearance.     Her    parents   or  master  fix   her 
price  at  so  many  head^  of  cattle  or  goats.     A  peasant 
woman  can  be  had  as  cheap  as  one  goat ;  should  the 
husband  be  fortunate  enough,  in  course  of  time,  to  possess 
a  sheep  or  second  goat,  he  will  sometimes  take  it  and 
his  wife  and  exchange  them  for  a  stronger  and  better 
woman  who  will  be  able  to  do  more  work  for  him,  or  add 
more  variety,  quality  or  quantity  to  the  day's  menu.     A 
peasant,  living  on  the  mission  hill,  married  c  e  of  our 
women,  and  coming  to  the  missionary  in  charge,   fell 
down  on  his  kn§es  and  eloquently  praised  him  for  his 
gift  of  potatoes,   bananas,  and  beans.     The   European 
looked  rather  perplexed,  and  at  last  had  to  own  up  that 
the  present  had  not  come  from  him.     "  Oh  yes.  Master," 
answered  the  man,  "  it  was  you  who  gave  me  my  wife." 

When  we  arrived  in  Toro  in  igoo  there  was  quite  a 
goodly  number  of  baptised  women,  including  Vikitoliya, 

71 


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■ .  ;•     I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 


m 


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the  Queen  Mother,  Damali,  the  Queen,  several  of  the 
Chiefs'  wives  and  ladies  of  the  royal  households.  Several 
of  these  had  been  taught  to  read  before  the  arrival  of  the 
European  missionary,  by  King  Kasagama,  who  was 
baptised  in  i8g6  during  a  prolonged  visit  to  Uganda. 
On  his  return  to  Toro  he  had  become  a  true  missionary 
King,  and  gathering  his  women  around  him  day  after  day 
in  his  courtyard  he  instructed  them  in  the  things  he  had 
been  taught,  while  the  men  went  to  the  two  Baganda 
Evangelists  in  the  little  reed  church. 

When  the  European  missionary  arrived  he  found  a 
large  body  of  eager  women  as  well  as  men,  ready  to  be 
prepared  for  Baptism.  Vikitoliya  was  one  of  the  first 
whose  heart  responded  to  the  new  religion  of  love  and 
holiness,  as  she  listened  to  the  earnest  words  of  the  King 
— her  son.  She  is  a  woman  of  considerable  influence 
and  of  decided  intellectual  ability.  Her  features  present 
none  of  the  negrotic  characteristics,  but  on  the  contrary 
they  are  sharply  defined  and  somewhat  aquiline;  her 
expression,  sweet  and  pleasing,  betokens  her  kindness  of 
heart  and  gentleness  of  disposition.  She  has  built  for 
herself  an  imposing  two-storied  mud  house  with  a 
verandah  and  balcony  all  round.  From  the  inside  door- 
way hang  reed  and  bead  curtains  which  she  made  herself 
after  seeing  a  Japanese  model  in  a  European's  house. 

She  lives  about  two  miles  from  the  capital,  and  in  order 
to  encourage  her  people  to  learn  to  read  and  attend  daily 
Bible  classes  she  erected  on  her  estate  a  church,  which 
holds  about  400  people.  I  rode  over  there  one  Sunday 
morring  as  I  had  been  asked  to  stand  as  godmother  to 
the  first  little  son  of  the  sister  of  the  King.  When  I 
arrived  the  Church  was  crowded — it  is  a  large  cane 
building,  with  innumerable  poles  inside  to  support  the 
walls  and  roof.  It  contains  no  stained  glass  windows,  but 
the  blue  cloudless  sky,  tall,  waving  banana  trees,  and  the 
graceful  grasses  of  the  Indian  corn  with  its  golden  heads 

n 


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I 

I J 


The  Women  of  Toro 

of  grain,  made  a  charming  background  to  the  aperture 
windows  and  helped  the  soul  in  its  flight  toward  God 
perhaps  more  than  such  exquisitely  elaborate  windows  as 
are  seen  at  Notre  Dame,  which  always  struck  me  with 
their  rich  colouring.  At  the  west  rnd  stood  the  font,  a 
black  native  pot  fixed  to  t.  wooden  packing  case  which 
was  draped  in  Turkey  twill.  Who  could  help  being 
impressed  as  the  wordo  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  ne"  sounded  out  in  the  foreign  tongue,  and  a  sweet, 
wee  thing,  lying  on  white  flannel  worked  with  pink  silk, 
was  brought  forward  by  its  delighted  royal  grandniother. 
At  the  east  end  were  spread  the  sacred  memorials  of 
our  Redemption,  speaking  with  such  force  of  that 
one  Sacrifice  which  uplifts  and  unites  all  nations  under 
Heaven. 

Vikitoliya  possessed  a  peculiar  love  and  reverence  for 
our  late  Queen,  after  whom  she  was  named.  She  never 
tired  of  listening  to  stories  of  the  "  great  white  Queen," 
and  it  vas  her  ambition  to  strive  to  be  to  her  people 
something  of  what  Her  late  Majesty  had  been  to  her 
subjects.  Never  shall  I  forget  her  grief  and  that  of  all 
the  leading  women  when  the  nev»  s  of  her  death  reached 
us.  Immediately  they  came  down  to  us  to  sympathize, 
and  were  at  first  quite  silent  in  their  grief,  then  with 
tears  running  down  her  cheeks,  the  dusky  Qr.een  subject 
said,  "Your  sorrow  is  our  sorrow,  we  ha/e  lost  our 
Mother,  our  friend."  It  is  wonderful  the  influence  that 
such  a  reign  of  purity  and  righteousness  has  had  even  on 
far  off  Africa,  rousing  the  best  chivalry  and  patriotism  in 
the  hearts  of  its  people,  and  inspiring  them  to 
nobler  ends. 

Christianity  is  doing  for  Toro  what  it  has  done  for 
every  other  country  where  it  has  effectually  entered— it  is 
raising  its  women  from  their  depths  of  degradation  and 
beautifying  their  lives,  cleansing  and  refining  their  speech 
and  habits.    Clean,  tidy  homes  are  now  seen,  and  care- 

73 


1  I 


1 1  ti . 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

fully  cultivated  land  in  place  of  the  pestilential  filth  and 
gaunt  elephant  grass.  Happy  family  life  is  springing  up 
among  the  people,  and  everywhere  there  is  a  stir  and  pro* 
gressive  vigour. 

Upon  the  Christian  women  as  well  as  the  men  has 
been  laid  the  responsibility  of  doing  something  toward 
spreading  the  knowledge  of  Christ  among  the  surround- 
ing  heathen.  At  first  a  district  visitors'  band  was 
organized  to  go  two  and  two  into  the  near  villages  when 
the  daily  classes  in  the  church  were  over.  They  took 
their  books,  and  either  collected  the  villagers  together  or 
entered  their  houses  and  taught  them  their  letters  and 
syllables,  after  having  read  and  spoken  to  them.  I  used 
frequently  to  go  out  with  them  to  see  what  progress  they 
were  making ;  a  shrieking  bodyguard  would  at  once 
attach  itself  to  me  under  pretence  of  frightening  the  wild 
animals  off!  Our  arrival  was  always  hailed  with  delight, 
and  a  dirty  mat  that  acts  as  bed,  couch,  and  footscraper 
was  generally  politely  placed  for  me  on  which  to  be 
seated.  The  small  children  generally  showed  their 
appreciation  of  the  white  lady  by  opening  their 
commodious  mouths  as  wide  as  possible  and  screaming 
prodigiously.  It  took  one  a  very  long  time  to  find  them 
attractive,  they  so  sadly  needed  a  rub  down  with  Pears' 
soapc    Monkey  Brand. 

Sometimes  I  found  loo  or  150  natives  eagerly  struggling 
with  their  reading  sheets,  all  squeezed  into  an  infinitesi* 
mally  small  hut.  Somehow  they  always  found  room  for 
theEuropean,for  they  were  very  impatient  to  be  questioned 
by  her  and  passed  on  to  a  higher  class.  When  the  read- 
ing lesson  was  over  we  used  to  have  a  short  service  with 
them,  and  it  was  exceedingly  impressive  to  listen  some- 
times to  the  young  Christian  women  speaking  to  them 
naturally  of  Christ's  love.  Thi-y  never  attempted  an 
impossible  address  or  delivered  a  thorough  out-and-out 
sermon,  but  with  touching  simplicity  told  in  their  own 

74 


The  Women  of  Toro 


language  what  was  a  living  and  real  thing  to  them.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  believe  that  so  wonderful  a  change 
could  have  taken  place  in  these  Batoro  women  in  so  short 
a  time.  When  the  visit  was  over,  all  the  women, 
children,  and  some  of  the  men  used  to  tear  off  in  front  to 
the  neighbouring  huts  to  inform  them  that  the  European 
was  passing,  so  on  my  homeward  journey  I  was  accom- 
panied by  excited,  chattering  men  and  women  and  a  crowd 
of  naked  little  folk,  many  of  them  bringing  small  offerings 
of  flowers,  beans,  or  eggs  to  deposit  at  our  door. 

Although  ti.ese  folk  can  make  plenty  of  noise  they  can 
make  very  little  music.  They  have  never  been  educated 
up  to  it.  The  royal  band  has  been  their  only  conservatoire 
of  music,  and  their  few  songs  were  connected  with  drink  or 
plunder,  themes  scarcely  conducive  to  the  highest  poetry. 
But  their  singing  is  great.  You  should  have  heard  a 
singing  class  I  used  to  have  on  Saturday  mornings. 
About  twenty  of  the  ladies  used  to  turn  up  and  exercise 
their  vocal  powers.  They  only  knew  a  few  of  Sankey's 
most  unmusical  hymns,  and  to  these  they  resigned  them- 
selves with  a  fixed  expression  and  still  more  fixed 
attitude,  without  making  the  slightest  facial  movement. 
They  produced  a  curious  grunt  through  their  nasal  organ, 
quite  irrespective  of  time,  key,  or  tune.  I  sacrificed  myself 
to  making  the  most  hideous  grimaces  it  is  possible  to 
form  my  features  into,  in  order  that  they  might  imitate, 
and  so  bring  a  few  muscles  into  action.  But  neither 
tonic  sol-fa  nor  any  other  tonic  would  bring  about  results, 
so  I  gave  up  the  class  very  hoarse  from  my  efforts. 

In  August  of  each  year  is  held  in  Toro  a  Teachers' 
Conference.  All  other  work  is  suspended  and  the  native 
teachers  come  in  from  all  the  villages  and  distant 
districts.  In  1901  we  decided  to  invite  the  women  who 
were  church  members,  so  that  a  united  Women's  Confer- 
ence might  be  held  for  the  deepening  of  spiritual  life,  and 
discussing  methods  of  work. 

75 


1^1 

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WM 


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It'. 


iy 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

We  had  three  separate  meetings  for  women,  at  each  of 
which  a  native  and  a  European  spoke.  The  subjects 
treated  were :— ist  Meeting— The  work  of  teaching  for 
Baptism  and  Communion— its  methods  and  re- 
sponsibilities.  and  Meeting— The  work  of  visiting  and 
teaching  in  the  gardens— its  methods  and  its  importance. 
3rd  Meeting— The  organization  of  women's   work,  and 

farewell  word. 

On  the  last  day,  at  the  close  of  a  very  solemn  afternoon 
gathering,  one  woman  rose  from  among  the  large  number 
present,  and  in  a  trembling  voice  said, "  My  heart  pains  me 
for  those  around  in  darkness,  and  I  want  to  go  and  teach 
them  of  Christ's  love."      A  great  stillness  fell  on  the 
meeting,  and  Damali,  the  Queen,  scarcely  able  to  steady 
her  voice,  closed  in   prayer,  thanking  God  for  having 
called  one  from  among  them  to  be  a  missionary  and  ask- 
ing that  others  might  hear  the  voice.      On  the  third  day 
nine    more  women    had    come   to  offer  themselves    as 
missionaries.      One  was  Ana  Kageye,  the  head  woman  of 
the  Royal  household,  one  of  the  leading  women  of  the 
country.     Before  coming  to  us  she  had  been  to  the  King, 
and  received  his  permission  for  her  to  leave  him  for  God's 
service.  She  had,  before  her  conversion,  led  a  desperately 
wicked  life,  and,  being  o'     and  so  steeped  in  witchcraft, 
one  almost  supposed  her  to  be  beyond  the   power  of 
reformation.    She    had    first    heard    of    Christ    from 
Kasagama's  lips,  and  although  her  eyes  were  then  getting 
somewhat  dim  with  age,  she  learned  from  the  King  to 
read  the  Bible  for  herself.     From  that  time  a  complete 
change  came  over  her  whole  life  and  appearance,  so  that 
her  scarred  face  became  quite  attractive.     Since  then  she 
had  provea  a  most  indefatigable  teacher  and  helper  in  all 
Church  work. 

A  class  was  at  once  arranged  for  instructing  these  can- 
didates morning  and  afternoon  for  six  months  in  St. 
Matthew,  St.  John,  Acts,  the  Pauline  Epistles,  and  a 

76 


fi'J 


The  Women  of  Toro 

sketch  of  Old  Testament  history.   A  t  the  end  of  that  period 

they  were  examined  for  one  whole  week.     During  that 

time  their  excitement  and  anxiety  were  strained  to  their 

higher,  pitch ;  they  refused  to  eat  at  mid-day  for  fear  they 

might  become  incai  ible  of  hard  thinking,  and  were  found 

in   their  places   at    class    nearly  one  hour  before  the 

appointed  time.    After  the  first  week  old  Ana  Kageye 

took  pity  on  their  troubled  appearances,  and  insisted  they 

should  all  go  to  her  house  after  the  morning  class  and 

she  would  give  them  a  substantial  meal.  Out  of  twelve  who 

were  questioned  two  i  cached  ninety-eight  per  cent,  marks 

and  the  lowest  did  not  fall  below  seventy-five  per  cent. 

After  that  they  were  brought  before  the  Native  Church 

Council  and  ten  were  assigned  to  stations.  Two  (one  being 

Ana  Kageye)  were  located  as  foreign  missionaries  to  distant 

Ankole,  two  to  a  hill  station  four  days'  journey  away  on 

a  southern  ridge  of  Ruwenzori,  and  the  remaining  six 

villages  two  and  three  days  away.     This  was  a  brave 

step  for  these  Batoro  women  to  take,  after  having  led 

such  indolent  and  sheltered  lives,  and  in  spite  of  the 

intense  joy  that  filled  their  heads,  they  did  not  leave 

without  tears  in  their  eyes  as  they  bade  good-bye  to  all 

their  friends  for  the  first  time.    Surely  they  teach  a  lesson 

to  many  in  favoured  England  who  have  not  yet  faced 

their  personal  responsibility  to  the  unreached  heathen. 

All  of  these  first  women  teachers  did  splendidly.  After 
six  months'  work  they  returned  for  a  few  weeks,  as  no 
native  worker  is  allowed  to  remain  at  his  post  without 
coming  in  for  occasional  rest  and  restrengthening.  The 
deadly  influences  of  heathenism  might  prove  too  strong 
for  such  young  Christians  if  they  were  to  live  away  from 
helpful  surroundings.  Eight  of  the  ten  again  returned  to 
their  work,  and  the  other  two  were  married  and  after- 
wards went  out  as  teachers  with  their  husbands. 

Ana  Kageye  at  first  found  the  women  of  Ankole  eager 
to  learn  to  read,  but  not  so  quick  to  believe  the  new 

77 


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On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

religion  she  brought  to  them.  One  day  a  young  Princess 
fell  sick,  and  their  own  cures  failing  she  was  carried  up 
to  the  European  doctor  temporarily  stationed  at  the 
Government  fort.  When  it  was  declared  by  him  to  be 
almost  a  hopeless  case  the  natives  gave  up  all  idea  of  her 
recovery,  saying  that  if  the  white  man  could  not  cure 
her  nothing  would. 

Good,  brave  old  Ana  then  came  forward  and  told  them 
again  of  the  Living  God  who  hears  and  answers  prayer, 
and  they  answered  together  '*  If  your  God  will  heal  her 
we  will  believe."     The  young  dying  Princess  was  there- 
upon carried  to  Ana's  little  grass  house,  and  as  night 
fell  the  fires  died  down  in  every  hut  but  the    one  in 
which  the  sick  girl  lay,  and  all  night  long  the  faithful  old 
servant  of  God,  as  she  watched  by  the  bedside,  wrestled 
in  prayer  for  the  life  before  her.     What  a  wonderful  act 
of  faith  was  witnessed  that  night   in  the  liUle  hut  in 
Darkest  Africa !     This  woman  so  recently  brought  to 
know  God  even  dared  through  faith  to  prove  her  God 
before  these  heathen.     As  the  day  dawned  the  women 
gathered  round  the  hut  expecting  to  mourn  over  the  dead 
body,  but  the  God  of  Life  had  come  forth  and  revealed 
His  power,  the  girl's  unconsciousness  had  passed  off  and 
she  had  taken  the  hrst  step  to  recovery.     The  result  was 
that  after  Ana  had  been  working  there  nine  months  she 
had  instructed  and  prepared  for  baptism  the  first  five 
women  of  Ankole. 

Is  it  not  worth  leaving  home  and  friends  to  search 
among  the  dusl  and  mire  of  that  dark  Continent  and  find 
such  gems,  even  if  they  be  but  few?  "They  shall  be 
mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make 
up  my  jewels." 


78 


CHAPTER    IX 
Child  Life 

CHILD  life!  How  immediately  our  minds  linger 
over  happy  scenes  of  mirth  and  innocent  'aughter, 
romping,  rollicking  games  of  mischief  or  of  fun. 
Bright,  happy  childhood  I  No  cloud  of  care  and  trouble 
has  arisen  on  life's  horizon,  and  sin  has  not  yet  tainted 
the  atmosphere  of  Heaven  that  still  lingers  round  its  cfiT- 
spring. 

But  where  can  memory  rest  upon  such  a  picture  as 
that  in  darkest  Africa  ?  Look  upon  a  tree,  the  tender 
buds  of  which  half  fearfully  peep  through  the  bare 
branches  just  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  outer  world,  when 
a  cold  frost  blast  of  winter  strikes  across  the  frail  young 
life  and  withers  it  for  ever.  That  is  child  life  in  Africa. 
Innocence  and  purity  were  withered  just  as  they  dared  to 
step  from  infancy.  Happy,  careless  mirth  was  crushed 
with  the  weight  of  the  burdens  laid  upon  the  shoulders 
of  childhood.  Their  mother's  home,  as  has  been  described, 
was  their  earliest  environment,  their  language  was  learned 
from  her,  and  then  lovelessness  was  the  children's  portion, 
as  they  were  sent  away  as  servants  or  slaves  to  neighbour- 
ing chiefs.  Parents  scorned  the  idea  of  bringing  up  their 
own  children ;  they  affirmed  that  a  child  would  never 
listen  to  its  parent  and  would  refuse  to  work,  so  they 
exchanged  their  children  at  the  age  of  lour  or  five  years 
for  others  who  would  be  as  slaves  to  them.  Even  at  this 
tender  age  they  were  taught  to  gather  the  sticks  and 
twigs,  and  then  sit  by  and  feed  the  fire  while  the  food 

79 


m 


til. 

frl 


41 


•fV 


I    ! 


n 


■i 


i 


'11 


'*  ■  i 


it 

-ii 

■  I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

was  cooking,  or  they  carried  the  gourds  or  pots  on  their 
little  woolly  pates  down  to  the  river  to  draw  the  daily 
supply  of  water.  They  were  generally  fearfully  neglected 
and  underfed  ;  their  dislike  to  water  was  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  they  possessed  no  clothing  and  the  dirt  kept 
them  warm.  If  anyone  had  been  born  with  a  leaning 
towards  cleanliness  his  mother  would  have  effectually 
crushed  this  by  the  cold  water  treatment  administered 
during  infantile  ablutions.  It  was  the  custom  every 
nriorning  between  4.0  and  5.0  a.m.,  when  the  cold  night 
air  still  clung  in  damp  mists  to  the  land,  to  hold  the 
babies  naked  out  in  the  courtyards,  throw  cold  water  over 
them,  and  then  leave  them  out  to  dry. 

Their  little  insides  were  treated  with  no  greater  con- 
sideration. One  morning  a  woman  brought  down  to  the 
dispensary  a  wee  morsel  of  three  weeks  :  it  was  a  pitiful 
little  object  of  merp  skin  and  bone.  The  mother  explained 
that  it  had  either  been  poisoned  out  of  spite,  or  it  was 
possessed  of  an  evil  spirit.  "  See,"  said  she,  "  I  have 
done  all  I  could  to  let  out  the  poison  or  devil."  Looking 
at  its  body  I  saw  it  was  covered  with  a  number  of  small, 
deep  cuts,  and  the  blood  had  been  left  to  dry.  Low 
moans  and  a  tired  cry  came  from  the  poor  little  helpless 
mite  as  the  flies  tortured  its  mutilated  body.  After 
questioning  the  mother  the  "evil  spirit"  took  the  form  of 
bananas  and  mushrooms  that  she  had  been  bringing  the 
three  weeks'  infant  up  on!  Feeding  bottles  were  an 
unknown  luxury,  and  as  no  equivalent  had  been  invented, 
babies  were  compelled  to  lap  from  the  hand,  an  art  they 
never  properly  learned  and  thrived  very  poorly  on.  Some 
three  dozen  india  rubber  "  comforters"  were  sent  out  to 
me,  and  these  I  managed  to  fix  on  empty  ink  bottles  or 
medicine  bottles,  an  J  so  a  new-fashioned  "Allenbury" 
feeder  was  introduced.  The  demand  far  exceeded  the 
supply,  so  they  could  only  be  lent  out  by  the  month. 
*'  Stephens'  Ink  "  would  have  been  immensely  pleased 

80 


Child  Life 

could  it  have  snapshotted  the  babies  being  solemnly  fed 
in  church  with  its  bottles  held  to  their  mouths. 

Certainly  it  was  a  case  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest 
with  the  Toro  infants,  and  as  the  "  fittest"  were  few  and 
far  between,  mortality  was  very  great  among  them. 

The  first  two  dolls  that  arrived  in  Toro  met  with  a  very 
mixed  welcome ;  the  children  howled  and  fled  in  terror, 
but  their  mothers  showed  a  most  profound  admiration 
for  them.  At  first  they  held  the  doll  very  gingerly  and  at  a 
distance,  as  if  in  fear  of  being  bewitched,  but  finding  that 
nothing  happened  to  either  one  or  the  other,  and  the  doll 
still  smiled  at  them  like  the  Cheshire  cat,  they  became 
great  friends  and  begged  that  they  might  borrow  it  for  a 
few  days  to  play  with. 

Whether  it  was  the  large  circulation  that  those  two 
dolls  got,  or  the  gradually  increasing  confidence  of 
the  Toio  children  in  the  white  ladies,  the  fact  remains 
that  in  a  few  months  all  childish  prejudice  had 
disappeared,  and  often  a  little  voice  was  heard  asking  for 
"a  child  that  causes  play."  When  this  was  known  in 
England  over  loo  dolls  were  sent  to  me  from  two  work- 
ing p-^ties.  I  never  saw  such  a  wonderful  doll  show  as 
they  made.  They  were  all  displayed  on  our  verandah, 
and  the  house  was  literally  besieged  with  men,  women, 
and  children  for  some  days. 

A  bride,  beautifully  dressed  in  white  satin  and  kid 
shoes,  who,  even  in  her  wedding  attire,  cried  "  Mama" 
and  "Papa,"  was  sent  to  little  Princess  Ruth,  but  the 
report  reached  me  that  King  Kasagama  had  constituted 
himself  guardian,  and  kept  it  locked  up  in  his  study  for 
slack  moments  !  The  Mother  Queen  wrote  an  imploring 
letter  to  me  for  a  dainty  little  Parisienne  who  arrived  with 
her  travelling  trunk;  and  Apolo,  our  faithful  native 
deacon — confirmed  bachelor — asked  me  in  secret  if  men 
ever  played  with  dolls,  and  beamed  with  satisfaction  as 
he  most  triumphantly  carried  one  off,  peacefully  sleeping. 

81  o 


D>H>|| 


M' 


:l; 

!r1' 


u- 


I  I 

PI 


#:: 


if: 


i.  '  \i 


ill 


^^^^^1 

^^H 

1  .V 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

The  others  were  giveti  out  to  the  little  girls  who  had 
been  most  regular  at  the  school,  and  were  noted  for 
having  come  with  clean  faces  and  bodies. 

When  the  boys  saw  that  the  dolls  were  only  given  to 
girls,  some  borrowed  their  sisters'  garments  to  try 
and  appear  eligible  !  I  did  not  know  till  then  they  were 
versed  in  such  cunning !  It  was  so  pretty  to  watch  the 
joy  and  even  playfulness  that  those  dolls  brought  into  the 
lives  of  so  many  little  ones  who  had  scarcely  known  what 
this  meant  till  then.  Christianity  has  completely 
revolutionized  child-lifp  in  Toro.  No  longer  are  the 
new-born  babes  given  over  to  the  Devil  by  causing  their 
blood  to  flow  as  a  dedicatory  offering ;  the  teeth  are  not 
now  extracted  to  v^'opitiate  the  Evil  One,  and  happy 
family  circles  are  seen  in  place  of  slavery. 

I  am  sure  in  no  Sunday  School  in  England  is  there 
brighter  singing  than  among  the  Toro  infants  when  about 
200  of  them,  with  very  lusty  lungs,  open  their  rather 
prominent  mouths  and  sing  "  There's  a  Friend  for  httle 
children  above  the  bright  blue  sky." 

Certainly  the  girls  and  boys  make  very  clever  little 
domestics.  I  have  sometimes  wondered  whether  the 
problem  of  the  over-taxed  English  market  could  not  be 
solved  by  exporting  some  of  these  small  people.  I  had  a 
little  maid  named  Keturah,  who  was  12  years  of  age,  and 
she  could  almost  manage  the  work  of  a  housemaid  and 
parlourmaid.  She  kept  my  room  in  perfect  order,  care- 
fully putting  away  anything  left  about,  and  cleaned  it 
regularly  every  Saturday.  On  Mondays  she  carried  o£f 
the  soiled  linen,  washing,  starching,  and  ironing  it  as  well 
as  I  had  been  able  to  teach  her  ;  and  she  could  wait 
at  table  like  a  Gatti's  waiter !  Was  that  not  splendid  for 
a  little  girl  who  had  come  to  us  without  i  ver  having  seen 
an  English  bed,  garment,  knife,  fork,  or  iron  ? 

Of  course,  one  has  occasionally  to  put  up  with  small 
inconveniences.    One  day  a  pair  of  boots  were  sent  out 

82 


Child  Life 


to  be  dried  by  the  fire,  with  strict  injunctions  not  to  leave 
or  scorch  them.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  brought  in 
with  a  big  hole  burnt  out  of  the  leather,  and  the  sole 
shrivelled  up  beyond  repair — and  these  were  a  last  pair  ! 
Pocket  handkerchiefs  frequently  find  their  way  into  the 
boiled  starch,  a  white  muslin  blouse  sometimes  loses  its 
identity  completely  by  a  strong  dose  of  the  blue-bag ;  if  it 
is  needed  for  a  special  occasion  the  quantity  is  increased  I 
A  flannel  nightgown  was  boiled  for  three  hours  on  one 
occasion ;  fortunately  it  was  a  very  unattractive  Jaeger, 
but  even  then  it  did  not  surrender  its  colour.  That  shade 
of  flannel  is  like  the  Ethiopian's  skin — I  could  never  even 
get  it  to  fade.     Take  my  advice,  and  try  white  instead. 

But,  .fter  all,  these  are  mere  details.  They  are  faith- 
ful little  people,  and  would  never  refuse  to  follow  their 
master  as  he  travels  up  and  down  the  country,  though 
they  scarcely  ever  escape  malaria  when  marching  through 
fever  districts,  in  spite  of  strong  doses  of  quinine.  Often 
concealing  a  high  temperature  from  the  European,  they 
hurry  on  in  front  to  see  that  his  tent  and  a  refreshing  cup 
of  tea  are  ready  when  he  comes  into  camp.  As  we 
travelled  down  to  Uganda,  on  our  way  home  to  England, 
our  staff  of  six  boys  started  out  with  us;  one  after 
another  knocked  over,  and  had  to  be  carried  back,  till  we 
were  left  with  only  two  to  do  everything  for  us,  and 
in  spite  of  their  being  ill,  they  insisted  on  coming  a.-,  far 
as  Victoria  Nyanza.  As  the  big  lake  steamer  weighed 
anchor  and  cut  through  the  water,  two  little  white  caps 
were  waving  at  the  end  of  the  pier  until  we  disappeared 
from  sight. 


/ 


9 


'"WM 


83 


If 


CHAPTER  X 
Religion 


I'l 


I  if;" 


CENTRAL  Africa  may  be  said  to  have  no  religion, 
if  Hy  that  we  understand  belief  in  a  God.  It  has 
produced  no  Buddha  or  Mahommed  to  make  known 
to  its  people  some  revelation  of  a  deity,  neither  has 
it  possessed  any  ancient  writings  that  a  Confucius  could 
bind  together  as  a  foundation  to  a  nation's  creed.  In  it? 
belief  we  see  the  most  pitiable  product  of  a  dark, 
ignorant,  and  degraded  mind,  that,  left  to  itself,  has 
worked  out  some  antidote  for  that  which  is  inherent  in 
every  man — an  indefinable  longing  after  the  spiritual.  Its 
faith  bears  in  it  the  seeds  of  inevitable  decay,  for  in  its 
tenets  can  be  found  no  trace  of  truth,  purity,  or  holiness, 
which,  varying  however  much  they  may  in  degree,  hold 
together  the  great  religious  systems  of  the  world.  It 
might  be  described  briefly  as  Devil-worship  or  the 
Propitiation  of  Evil  Spirits  ;  it  differs  in  its  rites  and 
rituals  among  the  various  tribes.  In  Uganda  the 
practices  of  the  people  were  more  extreme,  perhaps,  but 
certainly  less  torturing  than  in  the  Western  Provinces  of 
the  Protectorate,  where  superstition  led  to  the  most 
barbarous  infliction  of  human  suffering  from  the  cradle  to 
the  grave.  For  every  real  or  imaginary  evil  and  sickness 
that  fell  upon  the  individual,  family,  or  community, 
branding,  cutting,  and  mutilation  of  the  body  took  place ; 
while,  without  exception,  all  the  front  teeth  in  the  lower 
jaw  wf  re  extracted  as  soon  as  ever  they  appeared. 

84 


Religion 


These  customs,  practised  ior  so  many  generations,  have 
had  a  very  deteriorating  effect  on  the  physical  constitution 
of  the  people.  The  strength  of  the  natives  has  been 
sapped,  their  minds  degraded,  and  their  energies  crushed. 
They  possess  very  small  physical  resources,  and  fall  an 
easy  prey  to  any  sickness  that  visits  their  district. 

A  few  years  ago,  before  the  teachers  of  Christianity 
reached  their  country,  tiny  devil  temples,  made  of  grass 
and  twigs,  stood  in  the  courtyards  of  the  houses,  and  in 
these  were  placed,  from  time  to  time,  offerings  of  cowrie 
shells  or  food.  One  day  there  was  brought  to  me  at  the 
dispensary  a  child  who  was  said  to  be  devil-possessed. 
The  physic  prescribed  was  so  far  successful  that  the 
grateful  mother  brought  a  little  thank-offering.  It  con- 
sisted of  ten  cowrie  shells  tied  round  a  small  piece  of 
papyrus  stalk.  When  the  child  had  fallen  ill,  the  mother 
had  tied  one  of  these  shells  to  the  strip  of  grass  and  given 
it  as  a  propitiatory  offering  to  the  devil ;  as  the  sickness 
increased,  each  day  another  shell  was  added,  until,  find- 
ing her  child  become  rather  worse  than  better,  she 
brought  her  down  to  the  dispensary.  And  as  the 
European  had  done  what  the  devil  refused  to  do,  the 
woman  took  the  shells  away  from  him  and  gave  them  to 
the  white  lady ! 

Generally  speaking,  the  people  are  in  partial  or  total 
ignorance  of  their  belief ;  they  have  never  been  taught  it, 
and  practise  the  rituals  from  habit  without  realising  their 
significance.  The  priests  prescribe  what  form  the 
offerings  shall  take  and  their  claims  are  never  questioned ; 
besides  this,  they  extort  heavy  fees  each  time  they  are 
consulted.  They  profess  to  divine  the  will  of  the  evil 
spirit  by  means  of  charms  made  of  sticks,  hide,  horns, 
and  the  entrails  of  fowls  and  goats.  When  Kasagama 
was  brought  from  Budu  by  Sir  Frederick  Lugard  to  be 
rc-installed  in  his  kingdom  of  Toro,  from  which  he  had 
fled,  as  a  young  prince,  from  the  raiding  bands  of  Panyoro 

86 


'i 


n- 


*■ 


1 1 

It 


' » 
'I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

under  King  Kabarega,  a  white  fowl  was  killed  and 
examined.  The  priest  declared  the  omen  augured  that 
success  and  peace  should  attend  his  reign.  But 
Kasagama,  beine;  unacquainted  with  what  they  had  done, 
nearly  brought  upon  himself  the  worst  misfortune  by 
approaching  near  to  the  grave  of  the  fowl.  Had  not  his 
attendants  just  stopped  him  from  walking  over  the  grave 
a  moral  offence  would  have  been  perpetrated  upon  the 
body  of  the  fowl  and  its  spirit  would  have  avenged  the 
wrong ! 

By  carefully  clearing  away  the  accumulated  legends  of 
centuries,  one  finds,  however,  faint  suggestions  of  a  purer 
belief,  which  reminds  one  of  a  saying  by  an  Indian 
monarch,  who  lived  in  the  3rd  century  B.C.,  "  The  sap 
of  all  religions  is  alike." 

There  are  a  few  Batoro  whose  memory  recalls  their 
primitive  belief,  which,  despite  the  contortions  which 
time  and  repetition  have  effected,  bear  a  recognisable 
similarity  to  Old  Testament  revelations. 

At  the  beginning  of  all  history  they  say  God  and  his 
brother  Nkya  were  in  the  world  and  made  all  things. 
Nkya  had  three  sons  whom  he  brought  to  God  to  be 
named,  and  in  order  to  do  so  He  proved  the  heart  of  each 
man.  When  the  sons  were  brought  in  at  night,  to 
each  of  the  sons  was  given  a  pot  full  of  milk  and  God 
ordered  them  to  take  care  of  it  until  the  morning.  At 
midnight  the  youngest  dozed  and  some  of  his  milk  got 
spilled ;  then  he  turned  to  his  brothers  and  asked  them 
to  fill  up  his  pot  with  a  little  from  each  of  theirs,  and  this 
they  did.  After  a  short  time  the  elder  son  knocked  over 
his  pot  and  all  the  milk  was  spilled  out.  Then  he  begged 
the  others  to  give  him  of  theirs,  but  they  refused,  saying, 
"  And  what  shall  we  do? "  When  the  night  had  passed 
God  came  and  uncovered  each  of  the  milk  pots.  To  the 
second  son  he  said,  "Where  is  your  milk?"  Aud  he 
answered,  "  The  youngest's  milk  was  spilled  and  I  filled 

86 


Religion 


up  his  pot."  And  to  the  eldest  God  said,  "And  yours?  " 
He  replied,  "  I  slept  and  mine  was  all  upset  and  I  asked 
my  brothers  to  give  me  of  theirs  but  they  refused." 
Then  God  cursed  him  and  called  him  Kairu  (a  little 
servant),  saying  that  he  should  become  his  brothers' 
servant.  And  God  said  to  the  youngest,  "  You  shall  be 
called  Kakama  (Little  King),  you  shall  rule  all  people, 
you  shall  be  King,  and  your  second  brother  shall  live 
with  you  and  be  your  minister." 

After  this  God  took  counsel  with  his  brother  that  they 
should  leave  the  world  and  go  to  their  home  in  heaven,  for 
there  was  very  great  sin  in  the  world,  and  God  did  not  wish 
to  kill  man  whom  he  had  created.  So  God  and  Nyka  left 
the  world  and  Kakama  was  left  to  rule  the  people.  The 
Banyoro  trace  all  their  Kings  back  to  this  great  Monarch. 

Their  fifth  King  was  named  Kantu,  who  they  say 
brought  punishment  and  death  into  the  world.  Like  his 
predecessors,  he  disappeared  suddenly,  and  is  believed  to 
have  gone  up  to  God  to  beg  that  disease  and  death  might 
visit  the  people.  God  then  spoke  with  Nkya,  his  brother, 
and  said  it  was  well  people  should  die  and  come  to  life 
again  after  four  days.  But  Nkya  said,  "  Let  them  die 
absolutely."  After  this  the  little  son  of  the  reigning  king 
became  ill  and  died,  and  the  King  Isaza  sent  to  God 
and  said,  "  My  son  will  not  wake  up."  God  said, 
"  What  is  his  sleep  like  ?  "  And  he  replied,  "  Since  lying 
down  to  sleep  he  will  not  move  and  he  does  not  breathe." 
Then  God  sent  to  Isaza  and  told  him  to  dig  a  hole  and 
bury  the  child.  But  the  King  did  not  understand  what 
death  was,  and  as  he  sat  in  his  house  he  sought  for  his 
son  and  ordered  for  him  to  be  brought.  But  his  people 
told  him  that  he  would  never  again  see  his  son  ;  hearing 
this  the  King  lifted  up  his  hands  and  as  he  stood  over 
the  grave  he  cursed  all  men  for  the  death  of  his  child. 
For  this  God  plagued  his  people  with  sickness,  but  Isaza 
remained  unsoftened,  so  God  sent  death  to  his  second  son. 

87 


'  .3 


* 


Ai: 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

After  this  the  King  of  Hell  sent  messages  to  the  King 
Isaza,  tempting  him  with  gifts  to  make  a  covenant  with 
him  ;  and  after  much  hesitation  Isaza  yielded  and  set  out 
with  his  companion  the  Moon  to  visit  the  King  of  Hell. 
When  he  had  gone  some  distance  the  ground  suddenly 
opened,  and  Isaza  was  cast  down  till  he  reached  the  gate 
of  Hell,  from  whence  he  never  returned.  Whereupon 
the  moon,  grieving  over  the  loss  of  his  royal  friend,  went 
up  into  the  sky  and  has  ever  remained  there. 

The  method  of  these  people  for  making  a  covenant  was 
that  of  blood-brotherhood. 

Each  of  the  two  parties  took  a  coffee  bean,  dipped  it 
in  the  blood  from  a  small  incision  made  in  his  body,  then 
handed  it  to  his  companion  to  be  eaten.  It  was  a  most 
sacred  pledge  of  indissoluble  union,  a  breach  of  which 
met  with  immediate  death.  Whoever  the  King  chose  to 
honour  with  blood  brotherhood,  was  raised  to  the  highest 
position,  regardless  of  his  birth  or  estate.  This  has  often 
made  clear  to  them  the  passage,  "we  who  sometimes 
were  far  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ."  It 
is  said  that  when  the  first  EnglisI'  official  passed 
through  the  neighbouring  country  of  Ankole,  the  King 
and  people  were  in  a  state  of  great  consternation, 
speculating  as  to  the  purport  of  his  visit.  The 
explanations  of  the  Englishmen  were  not  sufficient 
to  allay  their  suspicions,  but  on  his  agreeing  to 
make  "  blood  brotherhood  "  with  the  King  an  under- 
standing was  arrived  at  and  the  confidence  of  the 
people  established. 

Their  ideas  of  an  after  life  seem  to  have  been  of  the  very 
vaguest.  Their  belief  that  the  soul  continues  to  exist  after 
death  was  evident  in  that  they  had  a  great  fear  of  the  spirits 
of  the  departed.  A  man  on  the  death  of  his  wife  (..r  one 
of  them)  did  not  marry  again  till  the  body  had  decayed, 
for  fear  of  offending  the  spirit  of  the  dead.  Frequently 
in  the  villages  are  to  be  seen  long  zig-zag  paths  leading 

88 


■4- 


Religion 

to  the  huts  that  are  supposed  to  baulk  the  spirits  which 
only  travel  in  straight  lines. 

Burial  takes  place  immediately  after  death.  The  body 
is  wrapped  round  in  bark  cloths  and  with  it  are  buried 
quantities  of  white  calico,  bark  cloths,  and  blankets, 
according  to  the  wealth  of  the  chief  mourner.  When 
the  head  of  the  household  dies  he  is  buried  in  the  court- 
yard of  his  house,  after  which  the  hut  is  removed  to 
another  spot,  so  that  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  shall  not 
trouble  the  surviving  members  of  the  family.  When  the 
King  died  the  custom  was  for  five  women  and  four  men 
of  the  chief  families  of  the  land  to  be  taken  by  force  and 
buried  alive  with  the  King,  to  complete  the  number  ten, 
so  that  he  should  not  be  alone.  A  house  was  then 
erected  over  the  grave,  and  inside  the  surrounding  fence 
the  Queen  came  and  lived.  Every  day  at  daybreak  she 
went  with  the  keepers  of  the  tomb  to  clean  it  down  and 
sweep  out  the  courtyard.  They  lived  on  the  food  and  cows 
stolen  from  folks  passing  along  on  the  roads.  A  man  had 
to  forfeit  all  right  to  anything  claimed  for  the  "  Gasani " 
(the  King's  Tomb),  and  could  look  for  no  reparation. 

If  a  man  dies  without  expressing  any  wish  as  to  the 
disposal  of  his  belongings,  his  brothers,  and  not  the  wife 
and  children,  inherit  them.  Among  the  Bahuma  tribe 
the  wife  is  included  in  the  personalty  and  is  handed  over 
as  wife  to  the  brother  of  the  deceased.  Our  small  milk 
boy,  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  came  to  me  one  day 
with  a  petition  for  a  rise  in  his  wages,  as  he  found  it 
difficult  to  support  his  wife  and  children  on  his  present 
earnings.  He  then  went  on  to  explain  that  his  brother 
had  died,  leaving  him  to  marry  the  rather  elderly  wife, 
who  had  two  children.  I  felt  the  right  thing  was  to 
sympathise  with  him,  but  quickly  learned  my  mistake, 
for  he  was  very  well  pleased  with  his  legacy,  which  gave 
him  a  wife  to  cultivate  and  cook  for  him  without  the 
usual  payment  of  goats  and  sheep. 

89 


•mmJm 
—4 


Sit 


■ii 


■iiil 


!■•», 


? 


'-•J. 


•  1, .. ' 


)f.:;: 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

The  Batoro  have  little  or  no  fear  of  death,  in  fact  some 
seem  rather  glad  to  create  a  iittle  sensation  amon^  their 
friends  by  becoming  for  the  time    the  chief  object   of 
interest  1     On  one  occasion  I  was  called  to  visit  a  dying 
man  m  the  Namasole's  village.      With  a  little  bag  of 
medicmt  strapped  on  to  my  saddle.  I  rode  out  to  see  if 
anything  could  be  done.     An  unusual  stillness  had  fallen 
on  everyone,  for  the  sick  man  was  none  other  than  the 
Katik.ro  ot  the  place.      Suddenly,  as  I  stepped  up  to  the 
doorway  of  the  hut.    there    arose    a    wild   shriek   from 
inside;    this  was   taken    up    immediately   by    everyone 
around  and  the  air  was  rent  with   wailings  and  loud 
piercing  screams-      I  knew  at  once  my  medicine  would 
not  be  required,  but,  entering,  tried  to  quiet  the  frenzied 
mourners.      I  drew  out  from  my  bag  the   Gospel  of  St. 
John  and  read  the  words  "  I  am  the  Resurrection  and 
the  Life."      Immediately  the  tumult  ceased,  and  every- 
one  listened    to  the    message    of  Life    spoken    in     the 
presence  of  Death;    and  as  we  all  knelt  in  prayer  one 
realised  perhaps  as  never  before  how  death  hath  been 
swallowed  up  in  Victory.      One  of  the  greatest  joys  one 
can  know  is  to  wave  the  torch  of  Life  and  Immortality 
across  the  darkness  of  ages  that  has  never  known  a  hope 
beyond  the  grave. 

The  result  of  the  people's  belief  is  stamped  unmistak- 
ably  on  almost  everything  in  the  country.  With  the 
lack  of  physical  energy  has  died  the  desire  to  master 
their  country.  The  rich,  productive  soil,  with  its 
abnormal  generative  properties,  has  been  left  uncared  for 
and  unkempt,  till  "thorns  also  and  thistles,"  the  insignia 
of  a  blighted  world,  cover  a  land  that  might  have  been  a 
veritable  Eden. 

Tall,  tangled  weeds  creep  up  to  the  very  doorways  of 
the  houses,  while  most  of  the  roads  are  merely  narrow, 
beaten  tracks.  Whenever  an  attempt  is  made  to  tackle 
an   appreciable   task,    a    few  days  suffices   to  exhaust 

90 


Religion 


the  labourer  completely ;  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  may 
be  seen  in  a  state  of  total  collapse,  with  a  strip  of  rag 
bound  tightly  '  "nd  the  hand,  the  outward  and  visible 
sign  of  being  ...f^  de  combat. 

In  Toro  one  realises  at  times  the  dead  weight  of  'ife 
and  its  environment.  The  changes  of  the  seasons — spring 
with  the  freshness  of  infancy  and  vitality  of  youth ; 
summer  decked  in  the  exquisite  glory  of  a  new  life ; 
autumn  and  winter  folding  tired  nature  up  in  a  long, 
deep  sleep — are  sadly  missed  where  the  trees  are  always 
green.  The  sympathy  in  nature  is  lacking  ;  flowers  lose 
their  subtle  and  delicate  charm  ;  the  bright,  soft  sward  is 
there  exchanged  for  the  elephant  grass  with  its  saw-like 
blades.  The  birds  have  no  song ;  the  voices  of  music 
and  poetry  have  never  been  heard  ;  and  as  age  after  age 
has  rolled  by,  no  lip  has  breathed  a  prayer  to  its  Creator. 
There  are  instances  when  heathenism  seems  to  surround 
one  with  such  blackness  that  the  soul  stands  as  if  isolated 
in  a  foreign  Land,  breathing  a  new  atmosphere  in  which 
there  is  lacking  the  spiritual  ether  of  one's  native  land. 


91 


i  i' 


I     ! 


-i 
-1 

i; 

f 

-^ 

> 

JL. 

ti 

CHAPTER  XI 
Language 

THE  lan^uajje  spoken  in  Toro  is  Lunyoro,  and  quite 
distinct  from  that  used  in  Uganda ;  but  it  is  un- 
doubtedly  the  parent  dialect  and  almost  identical 
with  that  spoken  in  th''  Kingdoms  of  Unyoro  and  Anko  ., 
besides  beii.^  very  generally  understood  by  the  tribes 
beyond  Ruwenzori. 

For  the  first  three  years,  Missionary  work  in  these 
districts  was  carried  on  in  Luganda,  as  neither  the 
European  nor  Baganda  teachers  had  sufficient  knowledge 
of  Lunyoro,  and  there  were  no  books  or  reading-sheets  in 
the  language.  Luganda  was  understood  by  some  of  the 
upper  class  men  and  a  few  women, but  it  was  scarcely  ever 
spoken,  and  none  of  the  peasants  were  acquainted  with  it. 
Until  these  people  could  have  their  religion  and  reading, 
books  in  their  own  tongue,  it  seemed  as  Jf  vital  Chnstia.nity 
must  remain  more  or  less  outside  their  actual  lives.  So 
towards  the  end  of  1899  Mr.  Maddox  went  up  to  Toro 
with  the  intention  of  studying  and  reducing  the  language 
of  the  people  to  writing. 

When  we  arrived  in  igoo  a  little  reading-sheet  had 
been  printed,  and  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  was  in  hand. 
But  there  was  no  book  or  literature  to  help  us,  and  as  the 
natives  did  not  understand  one  word  of  English  it  seemed 
a  hopeless  difficulty.  Miss  Pike,  my  companion,  had 
studied  Luganda  for  six  months,  so  was  able  to  speak  with 
those  who  knew  it,  and  through  interpretation  to  those 
who  did  not.  By  this  means  she  piloted  us  both  through 
those  first  days  when   the    house    was    thronged    with 

92 


It] 


Language 

people  from  morning  till  night,  and  they  pelted  us  with 

kind  remarks  nnd  every  imaginable  and  unimaginable 
question.  I  never  felt  so  absolutely  stupid  as  when  they 
addressed  me  with  a  torrent  of  eloquence,  until  the  idea 
struck  me  of  retaliating  with  a  continuous  flow  of 
English.  It  pleased  them  immensely,  but  certainly  did 
not  check  them. 

The  third  day  after  our  arrival,  Mr.  Maddox  kindly 
gave  us  our  first  lesson  in  Lunyoro.  He  was  trying  to 
impress  on  us  that  the  words  v/er^.  largely  formed  by 
prefixes  and  suffixes,  so  one  had  only  to  find  the  stem  and 
it  was  all  right.  "  Tinkakimuherayoga  "  was  obviously, 
said  he,  from  the  verb  "  okuhu,"  to  give ;  find  that,  the 
meaning  of  the  word  was  made  plain  :  "  I  have  never 
given  It  to  him  there " !  My  mind  was  chaotic,  and  I 
wondered  if  it  ever  would  be  anything  else. 

After  a  few  weeks  our  patient  teacher  had  to  go  off  on 
an  itinerating  trip,  so  we  were  left  alone  to  flounder 
through  the  quagmires.  I  believe  the  best  and  quickest 
way  of  acquiring  a  new  tongue  is  to  summon  up  all  the 
courage  you  possess  and  go  in  and  out  among  the  people 
until  you  adopt  it  much  in  the  same  way  as  an  infant 
does  its  mother  language.  Undoubtedly  it  requires  pluck. 
Tiie  first  time  I  ventured  forih  with  a  remark,  peals  of 
laughter  came  from  my  audience,  which  almost  quenched 
the  one  spark  of  courage  left.  Afterwards  I  learned  this 
was  a  mark  of  their  appreciation  ! 

In  the  fifth  month,  and  after  a  great  deal  of  hard 
persuasion,  I  decided  on  attempting  to  take  a  daily  Bible 
Class.  As  the  8.0  morning  drum  sounded  and  I  made  my 
way  to  the  church,  my  nerve  powers  fell  below  zero,  and 
I  felt  decidedly  limp.  The  words  "  Who  hath  made 
man's  mouth ;  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth "  pulled  me 
together  a  bit,  and  I  hurried  in  to  my  class  to  find 
between  twenty  and  thirty  women  waiting  for  their 
teacher.      Talking  for  one  whole  hour  was  a  terrible  tax 

93 


M\ 


as 


JM, 

IS? 

if 

I  yi 

1 

r 

1          ■*■ 

1 

f 


if  u, 


, ,  f ; 


f- 


iS^ 


■  I  i 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

on  my  vocabulary,  and  must  have  been  even  a  greater 
tax  on  the  endurance  of  the  class.  I  was  quite  done  when 
they  were  in  a  questioning  mood ;  it  would  have  been  bad 
enough  if  there  had  been  no  foreign  language  to  under- 
stand. The  very  first  morning  they  asked  me  about 
Michael  disputing  with  Satan  over  the  body  of  Moses  ! 

It  is  rather  surprising  to  find  that  such  simple  people 
possess  so  advanced  a  form  of  etymology.     The  parts  of 
speech  and  general  construction  in  a  broad  sense  resemble 
the  other  dialects  of  the  Bantu  class,  but  the  verbs  are 
very  complex  and  more  technically  developed   than  its 
offsprings,  Luganda  and  Swahili,     All  our  English  tenses 
are  employed  besides  several  others  met  with  in  Greek. 
Most  of  these  effect  a  complete  change  in  the  relative 
form.     Verbs  practically  dominate  all  the  other  parts  of 
speech ;   the  nouns,  with  very  few  exceptions,  are  their 
parasites.    A  few  straggling  prefixes  tacked  on  to  the  verb 
root  are  the  only  attempts  the  nouns  make  toward  an 
individuality  of  their  own.     Adverbs  and  prepositions  are 
rarely  granted  an  independent  existence.     They  add  to 
the  corpulence  of  the  verb  by  being  absorbed  in  it.     The 
perfect  harmony  between  nouns,  adjectives,  and  verbs  is 
a  veritable  man-trap,  for  a  native  will  rarely  understand  a 
discord,  however  untutored  he  may  be.  Besides  grammar 
and  pronunciation,  there  are  two  other  important  things 
to  study— the  proverbs,  and  the  mode  of  expressing  ideas. 
The  Batoro  are  not  quite  so  versed  in  the  metaphorical 
form  of  speech  as  the  Baganda,  who  are  capable  of  carry- 
ing  on  a  lengthy  conversation  in  the  most  mystical  and 
involved  proverbs,  only  quoting  the  first   two  or  three 
words  of  each,  and  quite  expecting  you  to  imagine  the 
rest.     I  trembled  literally  when  this  was  first  told  me,  for 
I  had  never  been  able  to  get  beyond  "  never  too  late  to 
mend"   in   English   proverbs.     But   Lunyoro    is  really 
kinder  in  this  respect.      They  do,   however,    exist    in 
spasmodic  forms.     If  you  want  to  really  win  the  love  and 

94 


li., 


■ 


Lansfuage 

confidence  of  the  people  you  have  to  make  a  regular 
business  of  learning  their  catch  expressions  and  idioms, 
and  dropping  completely  the  habit  of  translating  English 
into  Lunyoro,  then  they  will  confer  on  you  their  highest 
degree  "  Oli  Mutoro,"  "  y-^u  are  a  native  of  Toro." 

The  Batoro  have  ••  U-Jt  I  b^rlif^ve  is  a  unique  custom 
among  these  tribes,  that  is,  everv  mother  gives  a  pet 
name  to  her  child,  a  d  tiiis  cling;;  to  him  always ;  it  is 
used  when  addressing  f  i  t.Vker  of  love  or  respect  by 
friends  and  dependents.  Ana  Kageye  constituted  herself 
my  African  "  Mother,"  and  straight  away  gave  me  the 
name  "Adyeri"  (pronounced  Ar-de-air-y).  This  was 
very  readily  taken  up  by  the  people,  as  my  name  abso- 
lutely beat  them.  Only  the  King  and  one  or  two  others 
got  so  near  as  "  Hurudeki,"  and  really  it  took  some  time 
to  answer  up  to  "  Beki  "  "  Deki  "  "  Heki  "  "  Bodeki  " 
"  Hedeki  "  and  even  "  Paratata,"  which  were  all  supposed 
to  be  "  Hurditch."  Really,  to  save  the  poor  family  name 
from  such  rough  treatment  I  was  not  sorry  to  put  it  away 
entirely  except  in  memory. 

In  less  than  five  years  a  great  deal  has  been  accom- 
plished in  translation,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
hymns,  it  has  been  entirely  undertaken  by  the  one 
missionary  who  has  also  been  responsible  for  direct 
mission  work.  During  that  period  the  New  Testament,  the 
Prayer  Book  with  Psalms,  two  Catechisms,  a  hymn  book 
of  nearly  one  hundred  hymns,  and  a  reading  sheet  for 
learners  have  been  completed  in  the  language  of  the 
people.  Since  Lunyoro  was  adopted  in  place  of  ^he 
neighbouring  dialect  of  Luganda,  the  work  has  gone  for- 
ward in  leaps  and  bounds,  and  to  it  must  be  attributed 
largely  the  wide  spread  of  Christianity  among  the 
peasants  in  the  villages.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing 
to  find  a  village  that  has  given  up  devil-worship,  not 
through  the  instrumentality  of  a  European  or  native 
teacher,  but  simply  through  the  people  having  learned 

95 


M 


it 


ir ... 


I  *'3 


1 1 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

to  read  the  Bible  for  themselves  from  someone  who  had 
been  instructed  in  the  alphabet  or  syllables. 

When    Mr.    Maddox    was   about   to  leave   Toro  for 
England,  the  King  and  chiefs  came  together  and  pre- 
sented  to  him  a  letter  signed  by  a  very  large  number  of 
Christian  men.     In  it  they  expressed  their  warm  ap^re- 
ciation  of  all  the  work  he  had  done  for  them  in  translating 
the  books,  and  earnestly  hoped  he  would  soon  return  to 
them  again.     These  books  form  the  entire  library  of  the 
Batoro.     They  are  most  insatiable  readers,  and  as  you 
pass  along  the  roads  any  hour  in  the  day  you  will  hear  a 
voice  here  and  there  issuing  from  the  little  ^rass  huts 
reading  in  loud  measured  tones  from  the  Bible.     It  is 
impossible   to    estimate    the    purifying  and  sanctifying 
influence  this  literature  has    had  on  the   national  and 
family    life.     The    conquering    martial    strains    of  the 
"  Onward  Christian  Soldiers  "  have  displaced  and  driven 
out  of  the  country  the  old  songs  of  plunder  and  bloodshed. 
Instead    of    the    little    children    learning    demoralising 
heathen  songs  and  dances  they  are  being  taught  to  sing 
such  hymns  as  "  I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of 
old.*      Right  awav  among  the  creeks  and  crevices  of  the 
ancient  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  on  the  very  borders  of 
the  great  primaeval  forests  inhabited  by  the  little  pigmy 
tribe,   you  hear  to-day  the   strains  of  these  Christian 
hymns. 


>l  M 


96 


CHAPTER  XII 
Festivities  i^  Toro 

I.    Christmas. 

CAN  it  be  that  this  is  the  season  that  in  one's  mind  is 
always  associated  with  snow,  Jack  Frost,  Santa 
Claus,  shops  and  streets  ablaze  with  gas  jets, 
holly  and  mistletoe,  people  hurrying  and  jostling 
each  other  good  naturedly,  wrapper '  up  in  the  warmest 
furs  to  keep  out  the  crisp,  frosty  air,  i^iid  wishing  each  and 
all  the  compliments  of  the  season.  Yes,  it  is  really  Yule- 
tide!  And  yet  the  hills  and  dales  are  waving  their 
ripening  grain  under  the  deep  sapphire  of  a  cloudless  sky. 
The  dry  season  is  near  its  close,  hills  and  mountains  are 
scorched  and  parched,  vl:ft  banana  groves  and  the  tiger 
grass  of  the  swarrps  which  wind  like  a  serpent's  trail 
round  the  base  of  the  hills,  are  the  only  bright  and  green 
tracks  that  have  survived  the  conflict  with  the  equatorial 
sun.  On  all  sides  are  to  be  seen  tiny  patches  of  culti- 
vated land,  even  reaching  up  to  the  lofty  peaks  of 
Ruwenzori's  range,  where  the  people  have  sewn  their 
grain  (Buro),  and  this  will  soon  be  ready  for  the  har- 
vesters. 

In  the  garden  round  our  bungalow  mud  house  are 
gorgeous  zinnias,  balsams,  mignonette,  carnations,  sweet 
peas,  geraniums,  nasturtiums,  and  two  little  rose  buds. 
A  few  steps  further  will  bring  you  round  to  the  vegetable 
garden.  One  gardener  being  an  Irishman,  potatoes  are 
very  much  in  evidence,  and  of  course  cabbages.  Besides 
these    there    are     cauliflowers,     green     peas,     beans. 


97 


H 


m\ 


If 

fi 
it 


{{. 


'I 


J^i      ]' 

1  1 

't  .  ^^' 

H 


:^M 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

celery,  only  wanting  the  nip  of  frost  to  make  it  excellent, 
lettuces,  beetroots,  cucumbers,  tomatoes,  onions,  carrots,* 
and  turnips.  And  yet  this  is  Christmastime  !  It  is  little 
wonder  that  one  has  constantly  to  revert  to  the  calendar 
to  be  assured  of  this. 

And  so  we  set  to  work  to  get  the  little  gifts  together 
that  our  kind  friends  from  home  sent  us  for  our  native 
friends— knives,  pencils,  baes,  sashes,  blotters,  and  so  on. 
The  wee  tots  from  the  school  come  down  for  their  attend- 
ance prizes,  and  go  away  beaming  with  their  new  posses- 
sion  of  a  pinafore.  Then  the  oxen  are  killed,  and  on 
the  day  before  Christmas  all  the  sick  folk  come  to  the 
•'  missionary  butcher  "  and  hobble  off  rejoicing  with  their 
joint  of  beef  wrapped  up  in  a  banana  leaf.  And,  although 
Father  Christmas  has  assumed  a  black  face  in  Africa,  he 
does  not  pass  by  the  white  man's  door,  and  he  leaves  his 
gifts  of  a  grass  mat,  animal's  skin,  beans,  beads,  or 
bracelets,  the  only  things  with  which  he  can  fill  his  Toro 
sack. 

At  12.0  a.m.  on  Christmas  Eve  from  the  King's,  the 
Queen  Mother's,  and  the  Mission  Hills  the  drums  are  set 
beating,  and  from  the  English  forts  the  guns  are  fired  to 
proclaim  to  all  the  country  that  the  Christian's  day  of 
rejoicing  has  dawned,  for  the  Christ  child— Immanuel— 
has  come.  Then  on  the  midnight  air  is  borne  the  strains 
of"  O  come  all  ye  faithful  "  and  "  Hark  the  herald  angels," 
sung  by  some  of  those  who  have  been  redeemed  from  the 
heart  of  Darkest  Africa,  and  now  step  out  from  their 
little  huts  to  join  with  us  in  praising  God. 

At  8  a.m.  on  Christmas  morning  the  church  drum  is 
beaten,  calling  the  people  together,  and  by  9.0  the  church 
is  completely  crowded  out,  many  being  obliged  to  sit 
outside.  In  the  schoolroom  over  four  hundred  of  the 
peasant  folk  and  children  have  gathered,  and  in  the 
dispensary  the  sick  have  come  together  for  morning  ser- 
vice. 

98 


mam 


Festivities  in  Toro 


The  church  is  beautifully  decorated  with  palm  leaves 
and  flowers  that  have  been  brought  in  by  the  people,  and 
the  building  echoes  with  voice  as  the  audience  unites,  as 
one  man,  in  the  service. 

On  Afric's  sunny  shore,  glad  voices 

Wake  up  the  mom  of  Jubilee 
The  negro,  once  a  slave,  rejoices  ; 

Who's  freed  by  Christ,  is  doubly  free. 

After  that  we  all  go  to  our  homes,  the  natives  to  make 
merry  over  their  beef  and  bananas,  and  we  to  prepare  as 
near  an  approach  to  an  English  Christmas  dinner  as  is 
possible,  and  although  there  are  no  grocers'  shops  or 
fruiterers'  to  supply  the  usual  details,  and  our  cook  for 
the  twelve  years  of  his  existence  has  been  reared  in 
African  ignorance,  still  one  can  fare  very  excellently,  for 
the  guinea  fowl  and  sausages  are  really  turkey  in  all  but 
name.  The  baron  of  beef,  although  far  removed  from  the 
pri^e  oxen  of  the  English  markets,  is  very  good,  and 
the  home-made  plum  pudding,  with  its  few  suspicious 
native  ingredients,  brings  up  the  menu  to  almost  English 
standard. 

Boxing  Day  is  generally  a  grand  field  day,  when  sports 
are  arranged  on  an  extensive  scale,  including  running, 
pick-a-back,  hurdle,  three-legged,  and  obstacle  races. 
This  latter  involves  scaling  a  bamboo  scaffolding,  crawling 
through  packing  cases  with  the  ends  kicked  out,  climbing 
a  tree,  and  wriggling  through  a  stack  of  reeds.  Then 
there  is  a  greasy  pole  placed  in  an  oblique  position,  at 
the  end  of  which  is  hung  a  leg  of  goat.  Big  and  small, 
old  and  young  attempt  this,  quite  regardless  of  the 
undignified  tumbles  each  experiences.  Loud  was  the 
shout  of  applause  on  one  occasion,  when  the  Katikiro, 
who  is  of  clumsy  proportions,  after  many  falls  landed 
safely  at  the  top  and  secured  the  joint.  A  bunana  peeling 
competition  for  the  women  comes  next.    The  competitors, 

99 


toKii 


'^t 
•<^j-» 


\  ,1 


MM 


A      I 


,i  1^ 


51:; 


ii ; 


!  i; 


H 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigfmy  Land 

some  twenty  at  a  time,  sit  in  a  row  with  their  knives  and 
twenty  green  bananas  on  a  leaf  before  them.  When  the 
whistle  sounds  they  attack  their  task  with  great  excite- 
ment. Some  women,  in  place  of  knives,  use  sharpened 
pieces  of  wood.  Those  who  finish  first  and  peel  the  best 
receive  prizes  of  calico.  Scrambles  for  cowrie  shells 
generally  bring  the  sports  day  to  a  close. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  Bishop  Tucker  has  honoured 
Toro  by  dating  his  annual  visit  about  Christmas  time. 
This  was  the  case  during  our  first  year  in  Toro.  We 
had  had  a  busy  time  previous  to  his  arrival  questioning 
and  examining  the  hundred  and  fifty  women  candidates 
who  were  to  be  presented  for  confirmation,  and  when  all 
this  was  completed  we  ran  away  to  the  crater  Lake,  eight 
miles  distant,  to  snatch  a  few  days'  rest.  But  on  the 
second  day  we  were  unexpectedly  recalled,  as  one  of  our 
fellow  missionaries  had  been  taken  very  ill  and  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  into  Mengo  under  the  care  of  the 
other  one.  So  for  the  first  time  we  two  girls  were  left 
quite  alone,  eight  days  away  from  the  nearest  European. 
But  we  were  too  occupied  to  realise  it.  The  engineers, 
surveyors,  and  foremen  (?)  having  suddenly  left  us  in  this 
manner,  we  were  obliged  to  see  through  the  completion 
of  the  jobs  they  had  taken  in  hand  in  order  to  get  things 
into  shape  before  Christmas.  Here  at  last  we  found  a 
chance  of  putting  to  use  our  youthful  study  of  Euclid. 
With  a  measuring  line  and  sticks  we  felt  distinctly  pro- 
fessional as  we  tried  to  mark  out  a  new  road,  but  we 
found  that  if  only  the  ground  space  had  been  long  enough 
to  test  it  our  two  straight  lines  would  certainly  have 
enclosed  a  space.  So  perhaps  Euclid's  axiom  is  only  an 
absurdity  after  all ! 

Then  the  house  where  the  Bishop  was  to  be  entertained 
needed  repairs.  The  i  of  was  in  such  a  state  that  one 
evening,  while  we  wen  'idying  up  inside,  a  big  storm 
visited  us  and  simply  p^^ured  down  through  the  reed 

100 


Festivities  in  Toro 


ceiling  into  the  sitting-room.  Fortunately  there  are  no 
carpets  in  these  parts,  for  the  floor  was  covered  with 
puddles  in  a  very  few  minutes.  Bui  the  water  soon 
drained  off  into  the  holes  the  white  ants  had  made ;  they 
must  have  suffered  from  rheumatism  that  night ! 

It  was  a  difficult  matter  to  find  workmen  just  then,  for 
most  of  the  chiefs  had  gone  off,  each  with  some  hundreds 
of  men,  to  capture  young  elephants.  Sir  Harry  Johnston 
had  offered  a  certain  sum  for  each  young  elephant 
brought  in  alive,  as  he  was  hoping  to  have  them  trained 
for  transport  use.  A  few  days  after  the  first  party  had 
set  out,  a  loud  report  of  distant  yelling  and  screaming 
reached  the  school,  where  daily  classes  were  going  on. 
Nearly  everyone  ran  out  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  up- 
roar. A  large  crowd  was  seen  approaching,  beating 
drums,  blowing  pipes,  dancing,  and  shouting.  There 
seemed  no  apparent  occasion  for  such  a  row  till  one  spied 
a  tiny,  hapless  baby  elephant,  with  ropes  round  its  body 
and  four  legs,  limping  along  among  its  captors.  It  died, 
like  all  its  followers.  But  for  a  few  days  just  then  Toro 
threatened  to  become  a  most  undesirable  menp.gerie,  for, 
besides  these  elephants  and  various  monkeys,  the  King 
had  collected,  and  sent  to  the  Commissioner,  one  of  the 
largest,  most  repulsive,  and  horribly  human-looking 
chimpanzees.  The  mode  of  capture  had  been  rather 
unique.  The  tree  in  which  it  had  taken  up  its  position  in 
the  forest  was  isolated  by  the  capturers  cutting  down  all 
the  surrounding  ones  for  some  distance.  Then,  placing 
a  circle  of  men  with  spears  to  guard  the  boundary, 
they  felled  the  only  standing  tree,  and  as  it  suddenly 
crashed  down  with  its  coveted  and  unsuspicious  object,  a 
net  was  thrown  over  the  black  monster,  that  was  then 
hustled  into  a  large  cane  cage  standing  in  readiness. 

One  of  our  runaway  Missionaries  managed  to  get  back 
to  Toro  just  in  time  for  the  Bishop's  arrival  three  days 
before  Christmas.     We  went  with  the  King's  wife,  his 

101 


'i\ 


i: 


Hi 


'r 


i^ 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

mother,  his  sister,  and  about  250  women,  and  waited  for 
his  arrival  on  the  brow  of  a  hill.  All  the  men,  headed  by 
the  King  and  Katikiro  on  horseback,  had  preceded  us. 
When  the  Bishop  came  up,  riding  on  his  mule,  he  was 
literally  besie^2d,  and  we  could  scarcely  move  on  for  the 
crowd.  The  days  that  followed  were  big  days.  Three 
hundred  and  sixty-four  candidates  came  forward  for  con- 
firmation. 

It  was  a  truly  wonderful  sight  to  see  the  church  with  over 
500  men  and  women  assembled  for  Holy  Communion.  My 
mmd  travelled  back  in  thought  to  six  years  ago,  when 
outside  the  houses  had  stood  the  devil  temples.  Genera- 
tion  after  generation  had  passed,  the  Prince  of  Darkness 
exercising  undisputed  sway  and  holding  the  people  in  the 
most  degraded  and  merciless  allegiance.  Now  his  power 
had  been  completely  shattered,  his  temples  cast  down, 
and  a  great  Invisible  Temple  was  being  builded  together 
for  a  Habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit. 

Together  at  the  Communion  rails  knelt  the  King  in  his 
royal  robes,  and  close  by  was  one  of  his  peasant  subjects 
dressed  m  a  small  goat  skin.  There  was  old  Apolo  Mpisi, 
the  dispensary  patient,  with  a  beaming  and  peaceful 
countenance— this  was  his  first  communion.  Among 
others,  hobbled  up  an  old  lady  on  crutches,  who  had  had 
her  leg  amputated  during  a  visit  from  Dr.  Cook,  of 
Mengo.  The  responsibility  was  a  solemn  one  of  feelin" 
that  we  had  done  something  towar '  preparing  many  o^f 
the  women  for  this  holy  ordinan-.o.  When  we  shall 
stand  together,  all  united  before  the  Throne  in  Heaven, 
will  it  not  be  glorious  to  have  had  a  share,  however  smalli 
m  leading  forward  some  of  the  multitude  from  Africa  ! 

As  the  powers  of  Heaven  looked  down  upon  Toro  that 
day,  surely  they  broke  forth  into  a  song  of  victory.  Bless- 
ing, and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and 
honour,  and  power,  and  might  be  unto  our  God  for  ever 
and  ever.  Amen. 

102 


Festivities  in  Toro 


II.    Coronation  Celebrations. 

Although  so  far  from  things  that  stii  and  thrill  the 
great  heart  of  the  British  Empire,  Toro  must  not  be  con- 
sidered behind  in  loyalty  to  that  centre  of  its  Govern- 
ment. Certainly  it  exercised  its  utmost  ingenuity  to 
follow  close  in  the  wake  of  the  plans  and  excitement  that 
occupied  the  mind  of  every  English  subject  for  commem- 
orating the  great  event  of  the  Coronation  of  its  King — 
Edward  VII. 

Our  mails  from  England  for  months  seemed  to  have  no 
other  subject  to  talk  about.  Our  minds  pictured  it  all — 
sombre  London  stripped  of  its  usual  calm  sobriety, 
decorated  in  full  war  paint.  We  were  seized  with  a 
violent  fit  of  patriotism,  and  because  we  could  nofjoin  in 
the  London  throng,  or  even  go  to  the  grand  festivities 
that  were  prepared  by  the  Government  at  Mengo,  we 
determined  to  do  our  best  for  Toro. 

First  of  all,  some  days  before  the  event,  invitations 
were  sent  out  to  the  four  other  Europeans,  and  to  the 
royal  native  court,  for  a  coronation  dinner.  Orderirg  the 
donkey  to  be  harnessed,  someone  was  despatched  to  our 
village  shop  to  purchase  red,  blue,  and  white  calico,  with 
which  were  made  two  long  lines  of  streamers  for  decor- 
ating our  station,  and  a  large  Union  Jack  to  cover  the 
Table  in  the  Church.  Some  of  the  people  came  down  to 
decorate  the  outs.Je,  while  we  decked  the  church  inside 
with  the  royal  and  imperial  colours.  At  8.0  a.m.  on  Coro- 
nation Day  over  1,000  people  had  gathered  in  and  outside 
the  church  for  a  brief  service.  After  prayer  and  Scripture, 
a  Royal  decree  was  read  that  had  been  sent  out  from 
England  and  translated,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  brief 
address  on  the  event  of  the  day.  Then  we  all  rose  and 
united  in  the  good  old  National  Anthem,  that  had  been 
translated  and  type-written  for  the  occasion. 

That  was  the  first  half  of  the  day's  proceedings.    The 

103 


& 


f- 


i 


I 


4lh 

r 


gt 


\  S 


|i 


m 

Ft  i> 


I  S" 


ni 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

second  half  started  at  seven,  when  the  dinner  came  off. 
The  table  was  decked  out  with  a  table  centre  of  red 
geraniums,  white  balsams,  and  cornflowers,  the  serviettes 
were  folded  as  crowns,  and  the  first  course  consisted 
of  crown-shaped  patties  covered  with  the  yoke  of  eggs, 
and  studded  with  the  white  to  represent  crown  jewels! 
King  Kasagama  and  Queen  Damali,  dressed  in  draperies 
of  silk  and  white  linen,  arrived  with  the  other  native 
guests,  who  had  hung  about  the  outside  courtyard  so  as 
to  avoid  leing  the  first  arrivals.  It  was  marvellous  how 
easily  and  quietly  our  native  guests  manpulated  the 
European  table  equipments ;  half  concealed  glances  were 
cast  in  our  direction  every  now  and  again.  The  serviettes 
rather  puzzled  them — were  they  to  be  left  on  the  table  or 
used  as  handkerchiefs  ?  When  the  plum  pudding  came  in, 
all  ablaze,  with  a  little  British  flag  stuck  at  the  top,  three 
hearty  cheers  greeted  it,  the  King  joining  in  with 
boisterous  glee. 

-  the  table  there  were  three  dishes  o'  strawberries,  the 
fi.  we  had  been  able  to  produce  in  Toro,  and  we  were 
keen  on  introducing  them  into  the  country  generally.  Pre- 
paring a  plateful  with  sugar  and  cream,  I  respectfully 
begged  his  Majesty  to  try  a  real  English  luxury.  He 
glanced  timidly  at  them,  and  showed  the  usual  disinclina- 
tion that  is  always  evinced  when  given  a  new  English 
dish  to  sample.  He  assured  me  that  he  was  so  satisfied 
that  anything  more  was  impossible,  but,  passing  the  plate 
to  the  Katikiro,  told  him  to  try  it.  The  poor  man,  look- 
ing the  picture  of  misery,  begged  to  be  excused,  so  it  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  unfortunate  chief  minister  to  submit 
himself  to  the  task.  With  a  pitifully  resigned  expression 
he  took  one  strawberry  on  a  spoon,  then  another,  and 
another,  till  he  called  out  "  Excellent,  excellent,  the  best 
of  all."  Forgetting  his  recent  excuse,  the  King  took  the 
dish  near  at  hand,  and  simply  finished  off  the  whole  lot  1 
The  day  following  requests  came  from  one  and  another 

104 


.a, 


Festivities  in  TofO 

for  strawberry  roots,  and  King  Daudi  superintended  the 
Queen  as  she  herself  planted  them  in  a  plot  outside  the 
sitting-room  window  of  his  Majesty's  new  house. 

After  dinner  the  Kiri{»  was  determined  to  do  his  part, 
and  insisced  on  our  all  g'  '  ig  up  to  his  home.  To  our 
utter  amazement  we  found  our  court  outlined  with 
hundreds  of  flaming  torches,  ten  to  twelve  feet  long;  the 
bearers  were  waiting  to  conduct  us  to  the  royal  palace. 
The  whole  distance  was  lined  with  double  files  of  torch- 
bearers,  which  made  the  country  look  like  Earl's  Court 
Exhibition  on  an  exaggerated  scale.  Big  bonfires  were 
burning  on  the  surrounding  hills,  the  torches  of  guests 
coming  from  all  directions  looked  like  so  many  fireflies. 
On  arriving  at  the  Royal  Court,  we  were  met  with  a  blaze 
of  fire.  Quickly  falling  into  order,  the  people  unanimously 
shouted  a  salute  to  his  Majesty  and  his  friends,  as  we 
made  for  the  chairs  all  set  out  on  leopard  skins  outside 
the  two-storied  mud  palace.  Then  the  performance 
began.  The  Royal  band  was  then  in  full  force.  On 
striking  up  one  of  the  most  weird,  discordant  tunes, 
nearly  the  whole  crowd  of  people  broke  into  dancmg, 
their  fluttering,  white  linen  garments  flapping  about  them 
as  wings.  More  and  more  excited  they  got,  till  they 
danced  so  high  as  to  appear  held  up  in  mid-air.  Then 
they  gave  way  to  the  pipers,  who  performed  on 
instruments  made  from  crude  pieces  of  reed.  Singing 
accompanied  this  performance — such  fantastic  tunes,  all 
praising  the  greatness  of  their  King  and  exalting  in  the 
prowess  of  his  people,  with  ringing  cheers  interspersed  for 
England,  its  King,  and  King  Kasagama.  The  evening 
closed  in  giving  us  all  a  longing  that  the  great 
Edward  VII.  might  have  seen  how  one  of  his  kingly 
subjects  in  the  heart  of  Africa  had  commemorated  that 
important  day. 


105 


"*"!*'» 


^^^^H 

-    'i 

i.  -•' 

^^^H 

■-r 

^^^^^^1 

-t*N «. 

^^H 

■  *  **  « 

^H 

.-  1  ...  '-"M 

4\    -** 

^^^H 

11  *T- 

^^^^^^^^^H 

i  »  tm .. 

^^^^^H 

•-.1 

^^^^^^^H 

«• 

^H 

.    5 

»*■ 

^^^H 

■      i  ~ 

^^^H 

•  ii 

^^1 

^^^^^^^^^M 

1 

^^^^1 

if! 

^^^^^1 

M 

^^^^H 

rt! 

^^H 

'i! 

^^^^^^^H 

/ 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Tramp  1.   To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 

THE  year  after  our  arrival  in  the  country  my  com- 
pamon  and  I  were  again  on  the  tramp  toward  the 
Albert  Edward  Lake,  combining  an  itinerating  tour 
with  a  hohday.  We  started  under  not  very  pre 
pitious  circumstances.  The  wet  season  was  not  over  and 
promised  to  treat  u.  rather  shabbily,  for  the  rain  ^Z 
drift  ng  down  just  as  we  had  put  off  from  home.  We  had  a 
smal  body  of  caravan  porters  numbering  about  fourteen 
in  all.  and  an  ordamed  native  deacon,  named  Apolo 
Kivebulaya.  as  protector  and  overseer  of  the  forces  He 
IS  just  one  of  the  best  natives  you  could  ever  meet. 

His  experiences  seem  like  a  page  out  of  apostolic  history. 
.^%nf    :  ^T^  Sedulaka.came  from  Uganda  to  To^ 

ItJfn^n  H%r'^T'     ^^*="  "  ^""-^P^^"  ^*«  afterwards 
stationed  there,  he  went  further  afield,  even   as   far  as 

Sa'hnV;  ^°r'^''"''c°^''^'  ^'^"^y  ^°^«*'  ^"d  there 
he  established  a  Mission  Station.    At  first  he  met  with  a 

S.  1?  I  °PP°^'*'°"  f^o™  the  chief  Tabala,  which 
m  ght  have  been  expected  from  the  graphic  account  the 

^Lt  r'l  !*"''y  ^'""^  °^  **^«5«  uncontrollable 
people  m  his  book  "  Darkest  Africa."  Apolo's  house 
and  few  possessions  were  burnt  by  incendiarism,  and  for 
three  weeks  he  remained  hidden  from  his  persecutors  in 
a  house  of  a  woman,  who  had  become  a  "reader"-  but 
his  zeaJ  ^nd  faith  never  flagged  even  when  he  was 
cast  mt.    the  chain  gang,  for  there  he  commenced  to 

106 


s 


di 


i 


I'll  J  ■  f 


r 


■I  r*.|. 


!!'4I 


To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 

speak  to  his  guards,  and  taught  them  to  read  the  Testa* 
ment,  which  he  always  carried  about  with  him.  Shortly 
after  these  things  Tabala  himself  got  converted  to 
Christianity  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  very 
man,  and,  from  being  one  of  the  fiercest  opponents,  he 
became,  and  has  remained  since,  one  of  the  most  ardent 
supporters  of  the  Christian  Faith.  Apolo  is  a  well-known 
character  throughout  the  country ;  nothing  succeeds  in 
ruffling  his  quiet,  contented  nature,  but  with  a  chronic 
beam  on  his  old  dusky  face,  he  goes  along  in  his  daily 
routine  of  instructing  catechumens  or  confirmation 
candidates,  ofiiciating  at  burials  and  marriages,  or  visiting 
the  outlying  Mission  Stations. 

Certainly  we  could  not  hbve  had  a  native  escort  so 
respected  and  beloved  all  round  these  parts  than  good  old 
Apolo. 

In  order  that  we  should  find  camp  comfortably  fixed 
up  on  the  first  day,  we  had  despatched  our  belongings 
some  time  ahead.  We  were  anxious  to  wait  for  the  heat 
of  the  day  to  pass  before  actually  starting  off  on  our 
wheels.  Just  outside  Kabarole  the  rain  came  down  in 
torrents.  We  struggled  to  cycle  on  through  it,  but  it  was 
tough  business.  The  mud,  added  to  the  hilly  condition 
of  the  path,  prevented  us  from  making  much  headway. 
My  wheel  was  a  solid  tyre,  generally  known  as  a  "  bone- 
shaker " ;  it  would  not  stick  on  the  down  hills,  and 
insisted  on  skidding  along  the  narrow,  slanting  paths  cut 
round  them.  Once  I  did  a  most  uncomfortable  somer- 
sault, and  having  for  a  second  time  got  thrown  into  thick 
mud,  relinquished  the  bicycle  for  the  remainder  of  that 
day's  journey.  When  we  reached  camp,  we  were  in  a 
condition  better  imagined  than  described.  Evidently  the 
rain  had  rather  damped  the  energies  of  our  porters,  for 
we  found  the  tent  only  just  commencing  to  be  tackled, 
and  mud,  mud,  mud,  everywhere.  It  was  certainly  rather 
confusing  ;  5  p.m.,  and  in  a  tiny  space  surrounded  by 

107 


> 


i: 


• 


1 

It 

::^  ■' 

- 

1 

On  the  Borders  of  Plgmy^Land 

banana  trees  were  the  jabbering    porters  ;    boxes  were 
lying  about  in  the  mud,  and  a  small  crowd  of  inquisitive 
natives  stood  round  gaping  with  astonishment.      One  of 
them  kindly  offered  to  turn  out  of  his  tiny  hut  to  allow 
us  to  change  our  soaking  clothes,  and  our  stay  there 
turned  out  to  be  somewhat  longer  than  we  bargained  for, 
for  one  of  our  porters  came  to  us  with  a  cheerful  grin 
saying  that  he  had    left  the  ground    sheet  of  the  tent 
behind.     Stacks  of  soaking  grass  had  been  laid  down  over 
the  wet  mud  inside  the  tent,  and  our  low  camp   beds 
were  almost  sitting  in  it.     So  we  had  them  removed  into 
the  hut,  and  there  we  passed  the  night.    Oh,  these  native 
huts!      There  are  no  apertures  for  light  excepting  the 
low  entrance ;    this  one  was  partially  divided   into  two 
apartments  by  means  of  a  reed  screen,  and  in  one  of  these 
we  slept ;  in  the  other,  our  girls  cooked  and  knocked 
about.    There  was  just  squeezing  space  for  our  two  beds. 
Above  mine  was  a  ledge,  where  some  fowls  were  roosting 
and  strutting  about,  shaking  down  the  soot  and  cobwebs 
that  hung  t:.und    the   inside  of  the  hut.     We  scarcely 
dared  attempt  to  close  our  eyes,  as  rats  were  scampering 
about  very  excitedly  all  night.     We  cleared  off  as  soon 
as  we  could  in  the  morning,  hoping  to  settle  on  a  more 
congenial  spot  next  time.     The  road  left  much  to  be 
desired :  it  was  a  constant  succession  of  hills  and  deep 
ridges,  with  a  few  swamps  to  add  variety  to  one's  mode 
of  travelling.      Feeling   scarcely   like    wading    through 
these,  I   mounted  the  shoulder  of  a  stolid  porter,  who 
stumbled  through  the  mud  and  water  above  his  knees.   It 
is  a  tragic  experience  to  balance  yourself  up  so  high,  and 
only  a  woolly  pate  to  tenaciously  hold  on  to,  especially 
when  your  carrier  gets  stuck  in  the  mud,  and  extricating 
It,  with  an  unexpected  jerk,  nearly  sends  his  burden  and 
himself  head-first. 

At  every  halting-place  food  was  brought  to  us  by  the 
natives  for  our  porters  :   they  generally  offer  it  as  a  gift. 

108 


1 


«4 


ill     ■„,  '^'i 


Si; 


To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 

but  would  be  very  disappointed  if  they  did  not  get  some' 
thing  of  greater  value  in  exchange.  One  has  to  be  pro- 
vided with  a  purse  of  curious  dimensions,  for  at  some 
villages  reading  sheets,  hymn  books,  or  gospels  are  the 
payments  most  valued ;  in  others,  calico,  cowrie-shells, 
pice,  or  even  beads  of  the  particular  design  which 
happens  to  be  the  latest  fashion  in  clothing  there  at  the 
time.  The  scenery  on  our  second  day's  travel  was 
exhilarating  ;  the  road  lay  near  the  base  of  Ruwenzori's 
mountains.  We  steamed  along  on  our  machines  with  sun- 
hats  and  big  sun-shades  over  ridges  and  through  mud  at 
which  even  a  horse  would  stop  and  consider.  Our  noble 
Apolo  insisted  on  keeping  pace  with  our  bicycles,  and  as 
small  batches  of  natives  passed  on  the  road,  gazing  with 
blank  astonishment  at  these  "  running  snakes,"  he  called 
out  with  pride  and  elation  "  Look  at  the  wisdom  of  the 
white  man."  Just  as  this  remark  was  shot  out  for  the  third 
time  the  front  bicycle  tumbled  clean  into  an  ant-pit,  and 
was  irremediably  smashed  up.  The  people  did  not 
evince  any  concern  or  surprise :  they  evidently  con- 
sidered it  a  part  of  the  show.  One  of  the  onlookers  was 
chartered  to  shoulder  the  fragments  back  to  Kabarole.  I 
am  not  quite  sure  if  he  did  not  wonder  where  the 
•'  wisdom  "  came  in. 

When  we  were  within  one  and  a-half  hours  of  our  next 
camp,  streams  of  natives  came  running  out  to  meet  and 
welcome  us.  They  continued  increasing  in  number  till 
we  reached  the  village,  Butanuka,  which  seemed  well 
awake,  what  with  the  shrieking  excitement  of  the  people 
and  the  bowlings  of  the  children,  who  yelled  with  fear 
and  alarm.  Really  our  welcome  resembled  our  first 
appearance  in  Toro,  for  here  as  everywhere  in  these  parts 
the  people  had  never  seen  white  women.  The  drum  was 
beaten,  and  although  we  were  tired  out  and  longed  for  a 
quiet  rest  and  a  cup  of  tea,  we  were  borne  along  with  the 
crowd  there  and  then  into  the  little  gi^.     church,  where 

109 


I     -rf  '■*  = 


I 


,         '  ^i  '- 


.#», 


i; 


ii» 


tt  ■  ■;! 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

the  native  teacher  thanked  God  for  sending  us,  ant?    t 
expressed  our  joy  at  coming  out  to  them.    T!  t-  chief  haa 
erected  a  large  grass  shed  where  we  could  sit  durin.'  ih« 
time  of  day  when  the  sun  makes  a  tent  absolutely  unoear- 
able.    His  wife  brought  us  in  her  offering  in  the  shape  of 
a  sheep,  six  chickens,  eggs,  twenty  bundles  of  bananas, 
native  spinach,  and   two  large  gourds  of  "  mubisi  "- 
banana  juice.    Butanuka  is  a  charming  spot,  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  mountains.     Toward  the  south  these 
suddenly  terminate  and  expose  an  arm  of  Lake  Dweru 
In  nearly  all  the  valleys  are  stretches  of  cultivated  land 
and  banana  groves,  while  the  little  brown  grass  huts  peep 
out  hke  so  many  eyes  from  among  their  green  surround- 
ings. 

There  is  a  peculiar  fascination  in  journeying  throueh 
these  unknown  districts  of  Africa.  When  one  can  talk 
with  the  people  m  their  own  language  they  become  an 
intensely  interesting  study.  Cunning  plus  lying  plus 
theft  plus  indolence-these  qualities  seem  to  sum  up  the 
very  generally  accepted  idea  of  a  black  man.  Thus  the 
European  approaches  him  with  a  distinctly  biassed 
opinion,  and  instinctively  realising  that  the  white  man  dis- 

S'  .v.""«'.  r  '  'f  '"'^  °^  '^"  ""Sio  shrinks  back  into 
Itself,  the  fidelity,  dog-like  affection,  generosity,  and  keen 
penetration  of  his  nature  remain  unrecognised  because 
untouched.  Dispel  all  preconceived  ideas,  study  the 
people  s  environment,  the  external  and  internal  influences 
that  sway  them,  approach  them  not  as  "niggers"  but 
fellow  creatures,  and  the  European  will  never  need  to 
complain  of  the  bla  ^k  man's  presumption,  but  will  find  it 
even  possible  to  accept  the  inspired  statement  "God 
•     .     .     hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  " 

During  our  three  days'  stay  at  Butanuka  we  were 
bes^ged  with  callers.  The  sick  came  in  for  medicine, 
readers  to  be  questioned  for  baptism,  and  others  desirous 
of  bung  wTitten  down  for  instruction.     A  teacher  from  a 

110 


To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 

neighbouring  village  was  sent  to  us  with  an  eager  request 
that  we  should  visit  them.     We  agreed  to  squeeze  it  into 
one  afternoon.    Although  the  teacher  had  only  been  there 
at  work  one  month  we  found  quite  a  lively  interest  had 
been  awakened  among  the  people.    The  chief  of  the 
village,  who  was  captain  of  the  King's  soldiers,  came  out 
in  big  style  to  welcome  us.     After  a  little  service  and  a 
great  deal  of  medicining,  we  were  taken  to  the  chiefs 
hut,  where  a  meal  had  been    prepared  for  us.      After 
seating  ourselves  on  the  soft,  fresh  grass  that  had  been 
laid  down  on  the  floor  we  started  operations.     First  of 
all  water  was  brought  in  for  hand  ablutions,  then  the 
unsweetened  cooked  bananas  were   brought  in,  and  a 
boiled  chicken,  all  wrapped  up  in  the  banana  leaves  in 
which  they  had  been  boiled.    The  chicken  was  broken 
up  into  tempting  morsels  by  the  host  and  an  immoderate 
helping  of  the  bananas  was  plumped  down  in  front  of  each. 
Then  commenced  the  process  of  rolling  the  bananas 
into  small  balls  in  our  hands,  and  punching  a  depres- 
sion in  the  middle  by  which  the  gravy  could  be  scooped 
up.    A  sheep  and  three  chickens  were  brought  to  us  as 
presents,  and  as  we  started  off  nearly  the  whole  village 
followed  on  behind.     In  spite  of  hurrying  we  did   not 
reach  home  before  the  darkness  fell,  and  a  thunderstorm 
whtl  r'  "!■  "''^'"^^"ishing  the  long,  flaming  torches 
which  the  na  ives  earned ;    so  we  had  to  push  along  as 
best   we    could,    and    arrived    in  a    wearied  and  very 
bedraggled  condition.  ' 

Leaving  Butanuka  and  keeping  a  southerly  course  we 
found  ourselves  shut  in  by  the  big  mountains  that  rise  up 

F.r7h  fi  .^  fr°^V.''"'"  &«"tly  ""delating  surroundings 
For  the  first  time  I  mdulged  in  the  questionable  luxury 
of  being  hammocked.  We  had  been  experiencing  some 
days  of  heavy  rains  which  had  made  the  paths  very 
muddy,  and  the  long  grasses  through  which  we  had  to 
push  our  way  was  very  wet,  so  that  I  determined  to  take 

111 


■# 


iff 


I 


'         i. 


?p:* 


a 


'!^  ^  ii 

J-  ' 

il  :  i! 

f ;  i 


i 

F  ■ 

I 


I- -4 


i 
I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

advantage  of  the  voluntary  offers  from  some  «  '  the  yooog 
Christian  men,  headed  by  the  teacher,  to  art  as  carrien. 
The  men  gaily  hoisted  the  hammock  pole  on  their  heads, 
and  trying  to  appear  unconscious  of  their  io|  stone 
burden,  rushed  off  at  a  motor-like  speed.  They  evidently 
felt  a  little  uneasy  of  the  possible  consequences,  for  the 
front  man  kept  calling  out  to  me  "  Do  not  fear,  my  child," 
but  suddenly  I  was  precipitu  d  backward,  the  heavy  pok 
on  the  top  of  me,  and  my  black  "  father  "  was  sprawling 
unceremoniously  in  the  mud.  After  that  they  were  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  going  slowly,  especially  as  our 
imperceptible  path  lay  somewhere  between  tall  thistles 
that  gave  us  uncomfortable  pricks  and  scratches  as  m 
pushed  our  way  through.  When  we  reached  our  destina* 
tion  for  that  day  the  hammock  bearers  yelled  and  literally 
jumped  with  joy,  regardless  of  my  feelings,  calling  ont 
"  Juli  Abakuru  ba  Buingereza,"  "  We  are  great  people 
of  England,"  as  they  put  me  to  the  ground  with  "  Well 
done,  very  well  done,  mistress " ;  but  I  felt  in  an 
advanced  stage  of  mal  de  mer. 

That  day  we  had  a  typical  African  travelling  experience. 
After  descending  a  long,  almost  perpendicular  hill  we 
landed  where  our  path  lay  through  a  broad,  rushing 
river,  the  force  of  which  was  so  great  that  the  men  could 
scarcely  stand.  The  recent  rains  had  swelled  the  river, 
which,  coming  from  the  lofty  snow  peaks,  formed  into  a 
perfect  cataract.  The  first  man  who  very  gingerly  v^ent 
to  test  the  strength  of  the  water  was  carried  off  his  feet 
and  just  saved  hims-^lf  by  clinging  on  to  the  bank  at  a 
bend.  After  long  deliberation  Apolo,  our  leader,  got 
together  sixor  eight  very  powerful  men,  who  volunteered  to 
post  themselves  where  the  current  was  strongest  and  help 
the  others  along.  The  first  load  that  was  taken  across 
was  our  sack  of  kitchen  utensils,  which  floated  cheerfully 
down  stream  for  some  distance.  Then  the  men  suggested 
taking  me  across  in  the  hammock.    I  generously  hinted 

112 


To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 

to  my  companion  that  she  should  go  over  first,  but  she 
would  not  see  it.  So,  summing  together  all  my  courage, 
I  got  into  the  hammock  and  they  plunged  along,  dragging 
their  burden  through  the  madly  rushing  waters.  After 
about  three  hours  had  elapsed  everything  was  safely 
landed  on  the  other  shore,  baggage  and  all.  The  only 
tragedy  we  had  to  relate  was  the  sad  fate  of  a  chicken 
that,  at  sight  of  the  tempestuous  waters,  broke  from  its 
captivity  and  was  carried  away  by  the  relentless  river  to 
supply  food  to  the  hungry  little  fishes. 

Things  were  not  much  better  on  the  following  day. 
We  had  almost  walked  on  to  the  Equator  and  the  sun  did 
its  best  to  make  us  know  it,  so  that  at  the  end  of  four 
solid  hours'  marching  we  literally  collapsed  under  the 
shade  of  a  big  tree  and  sent  scouts  on  ahead  to  ascertain 
the  condition  of  the  River  Mubuku,  through  which  our 
path  lay.    They  returned  with  the  news  that  the  waters 
were  so  high  that  it  was  impossible  to  attempt  crossing 
that  day.    We  determined  not  to  be  done  if  possible, 
however,  and  pushed   on  to   see    for  ourselves.      The 
mountains  seemed  to  close  in  upon  liS  on  all  sides,  and 
from  their  precipitous  heights  rushed  down  numerous 
rivulets,  which  united  and  formed  the  mighty  Mubuku 
River.     We  halted  on  the  stony  bank  and  viewed  the 
situation.    On  the  opposite  side  could  be  seen  groups  of 
natives  crouching  down  among    the  long  grasses  and 
peering  with  frightened  glances  in  our  direction.    It  was 
evident  that  we  must  wait  till  the  waters  had  abated 
somewhat,  so  pitched  camp  close  by  and  made  the  best 
use  of  our  time  by  rallying  the  villagers  round  us,  who 
gathered  together  in  swarms.    There,  as  everywhere,  the 
cry  was,  "  Give  us  a  teacher."     The  desire  on  the  part  of 
these  people  for  instruction  is  quite  remarkable,  but  to 
speak  intelligently  to  them  is  very  far  from  easy.     They 
have  never  thought  in  the  abstract,  so  it  is  essential  to 
clothe  every    spiritual    truth    in    parables    or  concrete 

113  1 


Jiaa^aitf 


h' 


it*' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

qualities.  One  must  get  back  further  than  the  A.B.C. 
and  adopt  the  kindergarten  meutod.  If  one  does  not  reach 
them  it  is  because  the  teacher  has  fcgotten  how  to  be  a 
child,  or  has  failed  to  make  the  invisible  visible.  God  ia 
revelation  and  God  in  manifestation  employed  parabolical 
means  for  presenting  to  the  natural  man  in  his  infancy 
truth  which  is  infinite  and  incomprehensible. 

When  once  the  desire  for  reading  has  been  actually 
awakened  in  these  people,  nothing  will  deter  them  from 
mastering  the  letters.  If  they  possess  nothing  with  which 
to  purchase  the  five  cowrie  shell  reading  sheet,  they  will 
be  quite  willing  to  bring  in  firewood  or  do  any  work  b 
order  that  they  may  obtain  it.  One  old  woman  at  thii 
particular  camp  brought  her  spade  and  cleared  a  small 
space  round  our  tent,  and  when  we  gave  lier  the  longed- 
for  wages  she  started  right  away  to  struggle  with  the 
Alphabet,  although  her  eyes  were  dim  and  her  bristly  hair 
was  tinged  with  white. 

Thus,  when  no  teacher  can  be  sent  to  the  people,  they 
are  not  left  in  total  darkness,  as  the  Bible  is  slowly 
penetrating  the  entire  land  and  being  read  eagerly  by  iti 
people. 

The  next  morning  we  found  the  waters  had  gone  down 
sufficiently  to  enable  us  to  venture  cautiously.  It  was  not, 
however,  a  very  desirable  experience ;  about  twenty  men 
supported  the  hammock  while  the  waters  were  foaming 
and  roaring  beneath  and  coming  right  over  the  sides  of 
the  canvas ;  two  men  who  were  attempting  to  lift  it  out 
of  the  water  by  holding  on  to  the  sides  were  carried 
away  by  the  strength  of  the  current,  then  all  the  remain- 
ing availables  made  a  hasty  grab  at  the  other  side,  with 
the  result  that  I  was  on  the  point  of  being  overturned  and 
pitched  out.  I  just  managed  to  save  myself  by  hanging 
on  to  the  pole,  but  got  drenched  through. 

The  following  morning  we  started  off  at  7  a.m.  The 
scenery  was  enchanting  and  the  air  very  invigoratiog. 

114 


its 


To  the  Albert  Edward  Lake 


We  continued  steadily  marching;  until  iz.30,  passing 
through  hamlets  absolutely  deserted  on  account  of  the 
destructive  visits  of  the  elephants,  which  had  torn  up  the 
banana  trees  from  the  roots,  trampled  down  the  Indian 
corn,  and  razed  to  the  ground  the  little  grass  houses  of  the 
people.  They  themselves  had  fled  in  terror,  leaving  the 
wild  pigs  to  feast  on  their  potato  patches. 

The  four  and  a  half  hours'  walk  gave  us  a  decided 
hankering  after  an  A.B.C.  or  Gatti,  also  a  change  of 
clothing,  as  our  boots  felt  like  water  cisterns  and  our 
skirts  were  weighted  with  mud  and  water  that  literally 
trickled  off  the  edges.  The  porters  put  our  boxes  down 
under  a  tree  and  went  off  in  search  of  what  they  could 
pick  up  in  the  way  of  food,  while  we  fished  out  some  dry 
things  and  indulged  in  a  meal  of  goat  soup  and  cold 
chicken.  Our  guide  told  us  another  hour  and  a  half 
would  find  us  in  camp,  but  at  the  end  of  two  hours  hard 
walking  and  no  signs  of  our  tent  being  visible  we 
inquiied  iiow  much  further  had  we  to  go.  "  Oh,"  said 
one  of  the  porters,  "  it  is  impossible  to  halt  here,  three 
hours  more  will  bring  us  to  water  and  food."  This  fairly 
did  Of  us ;  we  had  somehow  doled  out  our  walking 
powers  without  reckoning  for  this  extra  distance,  and  we 
felt  decidedly  despondent.  The  natives  always  under- 
estimate distance  in  order  that  the  very  prospect  should 
not  have  a  discouraging  effect  on  a  pedestrian's  spirits. 

The  scorching  sun  had  made  us  very  thirsty,  and  we 
worked  our  teapot  very  hard  that  day ;  the  mosquitCM?-; 
gave  us  a  lively  time  of  it.  but  faint,  yet  pursuing,  we 
dragged  on,  reaching  our  welcome  little  tent  at  6  p.m. 
But  oh,  what  a  resting  place.  A  stmng  smell  of  stale 
fish  pervaded  the  air,  mingled  with  a.,  .e  odours  peculiar 
to  African  huts,  where  cattle,  sheep,  chickens  and  people 
all  huddled  together.  We  found  oui  tent  pitched  in  the 
middle  of  a  court  completely  sui  rounded  and  suffocated 
by  fishermen's  hills,  for  we  wen;  close  to  the  lake  shore. 

115 


i 


I 


3,» 


i         ■   Hi 


H' 


:,  I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

The  only  compensation  for  this  and  the  mosquito 
discomforts  wa^^  the  enjoyment  of  tasting  fresh  fish  once 
more.  The  i  ae  fisi  omewhat  resemble  fresh  haddocks 
and  are  of  delicious  flavour.  On  our  arrival  men  were 
sent  to  catch  them,  and  in  half  an  hour  they  were 
served  up  steaming  hot  from  the  stcwpan !  Their 
method  of  fishing  i ;  pri-iiitive  in  the  exticme.  They 
have  wicker  baskets  f^n  top  and  bottom,  which  are 
shot  down  in  the  uer;  vhen  they  have  enclosed  d 
fish  its  kicking  abou  is  K  a/d  on  the  sides  of  the  basket; 
then  they  thrust  in    i  oir  :.vm:.  ind  draw  out  the  captive 

Nyagwaki,  the  .ni=sio  t  station  for  which  we  wcie 
making,  is  situated  on  .u  of  the  southern  points 
Ruwenzori.  A  shoii,  steep  rlrnib  n^xt  morning  broug  t 
us  face  to  face  with  streams  of  ptaple,  who  came  hurrying 
down  the  mountain  side  to  greet  us  and  to  help  push  us 
up  the  rougher  places.  When  we  r.  ached  the  summit  c! 
the  hill  on  which  stands  the  vii.  ,ge,  atiuly  m  rvellous 
view  stretched  beneath. 

Evidently  the  Albert  Edward  Lake  once  extended  >vcr 
the  miles  of  plain  vhich  lie  to  the  north  of  it  far  bare, 
flat  islands  appear  here  and  there  in  the  large  ;irm  of  the 
lake  that  lies  almost  surrounded  by  plain.  It  is  just  as 
one  might  imagine  the  world  looked  wh  n  Noah  ameout 
of  the  ark  with  his  family.  At  sunset  the  view  was  most 
impressive,  the  lake  lay  shimmering  like  a  sea  of  gold, 
while  the  evening  mist  that  gently  ouched  the  land  made 
•t  P.ppear  as  though  it  were  blushm^  as  the  sun  kissed 
good-night  and  disappeared  behind  the  distand  hills. 

A  very  vigorous  work  we  found  was  going  -n  here  ;  the 
little  mission  church,  with  its  capacity  fo  about  200 
people,  was  well  filled,  and  s.  eral  came  j  be  written 
down  for  baptism.  An  occasional  visit  to  hese  -oLted 
stations  from  a  Europe. n  missionary  does  much  toward 
encouraging  the  young  uachcr^  and  Christixni  whoofien 
are  subject  to  severe  and  subtle  temptati     5  to  fall  ba  '< 

116 


To  ti ic  Albert   Edward  Lake 

into  the  o!d  heathen  prart'ces  bj  »hich  they  are 
surrounded.  The  Ch  'f  of  thn  ■  illagc,  Kasami  had  been 
brought  iii*o  toucl  vith  C  h-istianity  when  visiting 
K.iKarole  during  visu  ircr  Dr.  ^  >ok.  There  he 
had  undergone  an     peration  op  i,a,     nd,  having 

received  *'  new  wind'^ws."  h^  retur  >  ,  his  c  )untry  to 
use  them  in  learning  to  read. 

Otir  experiences  on  *'i'j  horreward  jc  ijrn'y  were  mi;  ■ 
th  same,  aith^-fh  wc  tocK  i  les?  cir  ntou?  route. 
Ai  1     t  without     \ccpti    'WO  so;  kt  ^  i  iro  id 

throi.irh  tWiCe  da..    :    f        wit       ,  e  hea 
nccfssr. ated      mid-Uay  i,  il*  and  cli.  nge  ■■ 
be   ivoided.  .hen  ag<>    ,,  i     the  att    no< 
which  fell  rcf   'arl}    i.om      .o  p.m.   n   a 
first  thing  on    reachin,!;   c.  ^  p  vv<s  *o  n: 
kindled  and  all  l  tr  v  ird^ob    Tung        nd  tc 
stiffen.     Our  bo(      sul  red      rribh  J  <;' 

we  struggled  int        em  ea.      nnorni    c; 

(  ne  day,  iftei      t-  ho  -3'      ai 
came      mbi  n^  togetlser  anc;   st 
We  tried  to  ^    iceze  u,   under  a  t 
no  shelter,  a    i  o\       uur   macl^ 
water  no  lont^cr.  vas  imn< 

the  *irc  wc!i  d     ot  u^nt      nn 

igi      until   tht    idea  occ 
each      her  ;   umbrella  ani 


i' 


d    vs,    which 

laria  v    ,  to 

ir  e  th      aint, 

ar  ")ur 

lire 

,'e,  or 

d  we  when 


g,  the  thunderclouds 

vn  torrents  of  rain. 

e,  but  this  soon  offered 

oshes  could  resist  the 

le  to  cook  any  food  as 

"I  ile  our  thirst  became 

L'd  to  us     f  standing  under 

*ing  th    streams  that  ran 


orr     he  spokes  I       lungt-         lasi  dr  ve  us  on  toward 
camp,  df  pite  the  rar    but  th  •  roads  required  one  to  be 
^d.    Fnithfi    Apolo  -.isisted  on  grabbing  my  arm 
1  a  ^    J  ti       when  it  finally  lost  all  power  of 


rou^ 

W:'h 
■'-Am 


row  o,  *^ruise:   prer .  ited  themselves  to  ^i'\e 
theconuict  ■    sscd  throi    h. 

For  a   vv;    ie  week  ^        been    passing    elephant 

tracks,    vvhi  h   the  port         Jeciared  were  quite  freshly 

naie,  but  once  only  weie      e  fortunate  enough  to  see 

hese  ma    lificent  monsters.    At  mid-day  the  porters  had 

117 


'  f| 


'111 


t  "•  :l 


KMh 


)*    -1 


kltjl 


fefflgga 


mm 


'2'  i  i.^  ■*■■*' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

spied  three  some  distance  off,  slowly  tramping  along  iu 
the  tall  grass,  but  we  only  saw  their  heads  and  tops  of 
their  backs.  At  5.30  p.m.,  however,  that  same  day,  a 
herd  of  fifteen  passed  comparatively  close  to  us.  In  singk 
file  they  solemnly  marched  over  the  brow  of  a  hill, 
silhouetted  against  a  gor>,eous  sky.  A  yell  from  one  of 
the  porters  brought  their  heads  round  in  our  direction, 
when  we  saw  that  five  had  immense  tusks.  It  was  an 
imposing  sight,  the  whole  was  so  perfectly  harmonious; 
there  is  something  vast,  untrammelled— a  strange 
abandonment  and  magnanimity  of  nature  in  scenes  like 
this,  that  even  an  Englishman  must  feel  small ! 

Antelopes,  birds,  and  butterflies  of  the  most  brilliant 
colouring  abounded  in  these  parts,  and  these  make  up  fw 
the  less  attractive  shades  of  an  African  tramp. 

We  arrived  home  very  much  braced  up  (the  malarial 
germs  had  not  a  chance  of  settling  down),  and  feeling 
that  we  had  perhaps  been  enabled  to  accomplish  some- 
thing toward  the  carrying  out  of  the  marching  order, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world." 


I?     V    ill 


n« 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Tramp  II.     Holidays 


AUGUST,  I  believe,  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the 
month  of  domestic  monsoons.  Bradshaw, 
Baedeker,  and  time  tables  are  the  hardest-worked 
books  in  the  house  at  that  time  ;  trunks  and  boxes 
are  all  upset ;  and  every  conceivable  seaside  town  and 
village  is  considered  and  rejected  in  turn  as  a  possible 
antidote  to  the  general  disgust  with  which  we  regard 
home  at  that  time  of  the  yeav.  Even  in  the  remote 
corner  of  the  world  known  as  'i  cro,  my  companion  and  I 
managed  to  create  something  of  the  old  H  sturbance  by 
announcing  that  we  wanted  a  holiday.  Perhaps  the  con- 
ventionalism of  our  up-bringing  was  to  blame  for  the 
suggestion,  but  I  believe  we  were  honestly  a  wee  bit 
tired  after  eighteen  months  of  wrestling  with  the 
language  and  becoming  acquainted  with  such  new  coo- 
ditions  of  life  and  work.  But  the  fuss  that  Uncle  Podger 
created  whenever  he  undertook  to  do  a  little  job  was 
nothing  compared  to  the  business  our  little  holiday 
involved.  First  of  all  we  had  to  get  the  permission  of 
the  Missionary  in  local  charge,  and  he  had  to  write  in  to 
headquarters  at  Mengo  to  find  out  if  the  Committee 
were  agreed  on  the  point.  Then  the  whole  district  had 
to  be  carefully  considered  as  to  the  spot  most  likely  to 
offer  real  rest  and  enjoyment  without  encountering  any 
perils  of  microbes,  perils  of  hunger,  perils  by  animals, 
perils  by  heathen,  and  perils  by  cannibals!  That 
seemed  a  dilBcult  matter,  but  when  it  was  at  last  all  6xed 

U9 


If  51 


•IV  ,     mt  1 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

up  the  drum  was  beaten  to  rally  together  porters  ;  food 

boxes,  tent  and  furniture  were  packed  up  into  parcels 

and  two  cows  were  ordered  to  the  front  to  complete  our 

daily  rations.    Swarms  of  people  came  down  to  wish  us 

good-bye  :  one  dear  old  lady  declared  she  was  consumed 

with  grief,  and  another  that  she  was  on  the  point  of  death 

because  of  our  leaving,  but  we  told  them  all  to  cheer  up 

and  hurried  away  to  assure  ourselves  that  we  were  really 

off.     We  found    ourselves  with  two  military  attache 

who  had  been  told  off  by  the  King  with  strict  injunctions 

to  guard  his  European  friends  on  their   travels.     But 

rarely  have  I  set  eyes  on  more  spindle-like  specim  'ns  of 

humanity ;  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  thick  puttees,  heavy 

jerseys,  and  cartridge  belts  with  which  they  were  laden, 

one  would  scarcely  have  noticed  their  presence. 

It  had  been  decided  to  make  for  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Albert,  which  as  the  crow  flies  appears  to  lie  about 
forty  miles  north  of  Kabarole.  The  first  day  we  struck 
camp  at  the  crater  L  Ae  only  a  few  miles  away.  This 
spot  has  a  peculiar  charm;  a  turn  in  the  road  brings  one 
suddenly  in  view  of  this  still  sheet  of  water,  and  there  is 
something  rather  uncanny  about  the  dead  waters  lying  in 
sepulchres  of  the  past.  I  am  not  surprised  that  the 
natives  associate  them  with  stories  of  devils  and  hob- 
goblins. One  side  of  the  crater  has  been  worn  away 
leaving  an  outlet  for  the  water  that  has  accumulated 
in  Its  mouth,  and  this  flowed  out  a  few  hundred  yards 
before  it  found  its  level.  Numbers  of  du-k  play  about 
the  waters  of  the  lake,  and  beautiful  purple  and  pink 
water-lilies  grow  close  to  the  banks.  We  found  a  regular 
orchestra  of  frogs  croaking  forte  fortissimo  as  an  all-night 
serenade.  It  was  just  one  of  those  days  when  the  world 
feels  flooded  with  self-satisfaction  and  peace  and  God 
seems  "  to  rest  in  His  love  "  as  we  started  off  early  the 
next  morning.  Having  the  loan  of  a  Muscat  donkey 
given  me,  I  hurried  off  to  get  ahead  of  the  caravan  and 

m 


Holidays 


reach  of  listeners,  and  then  gave  full  vent  to  my  feelings 
in  that  glorious   hymn,    "  Praise    my    soul,  the  King 
of  Heaven."     An  old  woman,  who  had  been  fearfully 
startled  at  the  unusual  sight  and  sound,  peered  suddenly 
through  the  long  grasses  on  the  roadside,  and  so  stopped 
my  noble  steed  in  his  lively  gallop.     Exercising  the  usual 
native  politeness,  I  greeted  her  with  "  How  are  you,  my 
mother  ?  "     She  replied  in  the  most  complimentary  terms 
"  How's  yourself,  mother  of  my  grandmother?  "     I  then 
asked  her  why  she  wore  the    shell  and    bit  of    wood 
threaded  on  string  round  her  neck,  and  she  told  me  it 
was  to  cure  a  pain  on  the  chest.      The  words  felt  like  a 
harsh  discord.    When  "  Heaven  lies  about  us  "  and  every 
common  bush  is  aflame  with  God,  it  is  inconceivable  how 
any  man  can  remain  cognisant  only  of  the  Spirit  of  Evil. 
Our  path  led  us  right  close  up  to  the  north  end  of  the 
Ruwenzori  range,    where    it    gets  broken    up    into    a 
succession  of  pyramid  peaks,  ridge  intersecting   ridge. 
Bamboo  forests  crowned  the  crests,  as  few  points  reached 
a  higher  altitude  than  eight  thousand  or  nine  thousand 
feet.    The  dry  season  had  just  about  exhausted  itself  at 
that  time,  in  conbequence  of  which    the  grass  on  the 
mountains  was  dried  up  or  had  been  burnt  away  in  huge 
patches,  exposing  the  bare  soil  and  jagged  rocks  that 
frowned  down  upon  us  with  uncompromising  severity.  As 
the  second  day  closed  in  upon  us,  we  stole  out  of  our 
nttletent  to  watch  the  storm  freaks  on  the  mountain 
sides.    An  old  dame,  with  a  basket  of  sweet    potatoes 
balanced  on  her  shaven  pate,  passed  us,  and  stared  hard 
from  our  headgear  down  to  our  boot  leather,  with  grave 
disapproval.    She  insisted  most  vehemently  that  we  must 
live  without  eating,  for  where  could  the  food  go  when  we 
were  tied  up  in  the  i  like  that !   Which  reminded  me 

of  a  chief  who  visitr?  one  day  just  as  we  were  going 

in  to  lunch,  asked  if  w     -ecame  like  the  Batoro  when  they 
had  finished  eating,  who  resemble  inflated  balloons. 

121 


■  m 


b  >' 


'''■  IP  (  ap  ^^  ■ 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

InstMf^  of  being  able  to  take  a  direct  route  to  the  Lake 
^er  the  hills  we  were  obliged  to  get  down  into  the 
2>eniliki  pia^n,  a  long,  unwholesome  tract  reeking  with 
malana  tnat  lies  between  and  unites  with  a  broad 
navigable  river,  the  Albert  Edward  and  Albert  Lakes, 
Although  actually  in  sight  of  the  broad  sheet  of  water  to 
our  dismay  we  found  the  only  path  zig-zagged  continually 
across  the  plam.  so  that  we  were  actually  let  in  for  five 
days  floundering  up  and  down  it-pushing  our  way 
through  grass  five  to  ten  feet  high  always  laden  with 
moisture  as  we  started  out  each  day  on  our  tramp.    The 

r„X  T      u"^'""^'  ^'°"^   *^"   P'*'"    ''•*«   ^    guttering 
snake  :  ,t  is  about  thirty  yards  wide,  and  has  a  very  rapid 

now   which  prevents  swamps  from  collecting  along  its 
course.     A  few  straggling  huts  sprawled   about   on  the 
banks  go  by  the  name  of  fishing  villages.     With  smaU 
harpoons  the  fisherfolk  spear  the  fish,  which  are  chiefly  ot 
the  carnivorous  species.     Great  care  has  to  be  exercised 
t>y  the  people  as  the  river  abounds  in  crocodiles.     The 
inhabitants  of  the  plain  are  a  timid,  dull  folk-they  did 
Tuh"''";  ;:«"*"/«  to  look  up  at  us  as  we  passed  them, 
although  they  had  never  seen  a  white  woman.     Arriving 
atone  village  we  found  it  absolutely  deserted;  the  people 
had  all  fled  on  hearing  of  our  approach,  leaving  their 
homes  with  their  few  possessions  scattered  about.     A 
search  party  was  organised  from  among  our  porters,  and 
alter  a  long  hunt  one  poor,  unhappy  creature  was  brought 
m.     He  looked  as  if  his  last  moment  had  come  when  he 
was  brought  to  us.  but  when  he  heard  his  own  language 
spoken  and  learned  our  peaceful  intentions  he  went  Iff 
and  hauled  in  the  others  who  were  soon  on  the  most 
fnendly  terms  with  us.     Towards  evening  they  all  cam* 
round  us  as  we  had  prayers  with  our  boys  and  porten. 
They  were  delighted   with    the    singing,    and  without 
waiting  to  be  correctly  taught  the  tune  of  "Jesus  loves 
me    they  rushed  into  it,  all  together,  and  soon  feU  into 

m 


Holidays 


unison.  The  original  air  was  quite  unrecognisable,  but 
one  must  forget  to  be  orthodox  sometimes  out  here. 
Singing  never  fails  to  arrest  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
offers  an  opportunity  of  telling  them  something  of  the 
Great  and  Loving  Creator  whom  we  laud  and  worship. 
Christ  alone  who  is  Wisdom  can  give  one  the  confidence 
to  attempt,  in  one  short  time,  to  draw  aside  the  veil  from 
the  eyes  and  reveal  the  Father  to  those  who  have  never 
heard  His  Name.  Yet  once  having  seen  Him,  one  dares 
not  allow  that  opportunity  to  pass  by. 

Within  the  last  few  years  this  plain  has  been  placed 
among  the  game  preserves  of  the  Protectorate ;  it  will 
consequently  be  a  tantalizing  route  to  the  sportsmen,  as 
it  abounds  in  antelopes  of  several  kinds— harte-beestes, 
wilde-beestes,    water-back,    wild    boars,    and    birds    of 
exquisite  colouring.     We  cculd  get  practically  no  food 
for  our  porters,  and  on  the  second  day's  fast,  regardless 
of  laws  and  regulations,  we  ventured  out  with  a  gun  to 
try  and  bring  down  something.     But  it  was  impossible  to 
get  anywhere  near  the  animals,   as  our  scouts  got    so 
excited  that  they  frightened  them  away  before  we  could 
get  within  shooting  distance.      Then  we  tried  the  plan  of 
despatching  one  of  our  noble  soldiers  with  a  number  of 
men  from  one  of  the  villages  to  the  nearest  market  in 
order  to  buy  food.     The  men  procured  some  potatoes, 
and  started  back  with  them,  but,  as  the  military  went  on 
slightly  in  advance,  they  all  decamped  one  by  one,  carrj'- 
ing  off  the  food  with  them.     They  had  evidently  taken  in 
the  measure  of  their  leader ! 

The  following  day,  Sunday,  we  could  not  do  otherwise 
but  press  on,  while  our  men  were  without  food.  At  mid- 
day we  reached  a  most  indiscribably  desolate  stretch  of 
country,  for  many  miles  there  extended  scrub,  inter- 
spersed only  by  thorn  bushes  and  tall  cactus  trees.  Being 
thcroughly  exhausted  with  fatigue,  we  struck  camp  by 
three  lonely  huts  that  unexpectedly  were  dumped  down 

128 


''I 


I 


1i 


i 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 


?! 


ill 


■I 

•  i 

.;   '  id 


in  this  wilderness,  without  any  sign  of  cultivation  around. 
The  people  were  wretchedly  emaciated  and  seemed  to 
have  no  spirit  or  strength  to  provide  themselves  with 
nourishment.  They  declared  nothing  would  grow,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  live  on  what  they  hunted  or  the  food 
which  occasionally  they  could  get  in  exchange  for  animal 
flesh  or  hides. 

The  only  prolific  life  was  mosquitoes.  We  got  out  our 
prayer  books  towards  evening  to  sing  one  of  the  well- 
known  hymns,  but  our  spirits  were  at  low  ebb  and  would 
not  rise.  Two  hungry-looking  vultures  sat  on  a  naked 
cactus  tree  opposite  our  tent,  watching  our  effort ;  they 
did  not  encourage  song  !     I  do  dislike  those  birds  so ! 

The  fact  was  we  were  all  feeling  the  dreariness  of 
our  surroundings,  and  needed  a  good,  sound  chop! 

During  a  holiday,  perhaps  more  than  at  other  times, 
one  just  longs  for  a  Sunday  back  in  the  dear  country. 
The  exposure  and  frugality  of  camp  life  makes  one  appre- 
ciate the  shelter  and  calm  of  the  home  life.  That  all 
seemed  so  far  off,  and  yet  the  setting  sun  said  it  is  but 
two  hours  away.  It  is  always  thus  when  we  look  up. 
Here  below  it  is  distance,  time,  and  change ;  up  there  it 
is  infinity.  Eternity,  God ;  and  our  citizenship,  after  all, 
is  in  heaven.  Our  earthly  life,  home,  and  loved  ones  are 
gradually  passing  beyond  the  arc  of  time,  and  hereafter 
we  shall  find  all  again,  perfected  and  completed,  like  the 
rainbow,  round  the  Throne. 

We  vere  really  getting  very  alarmed  on  our  porten' 
account,  but  they  were  very  plucky  about  it,  and,  seeing 
our  concern,  assured  us  they  could  go  without  food  nine 
days !  Nevertheless,  they  all  sent  up  a  shout  of  joy  on 
the  third  day  when  a  fairly  flourishing  little  fishing 
village  was  spied  close  by,  on  the  south  end  of  the  lakes. 
It  consisted  merely  of  a  few  scattered  huts,  but  food  was 
plentiful.  As  we  arrived,  the  fishing  smacks  (dug-out 
canoes)   had  just  come,  bringing  in  a  two  days'  haoL 

124 


Holidays 

The  fish,  which  resembled  large  cod  and  dabs,  looked 
delicious,  and  was  a  rare  treat  after  the  everlasting  goat 
and  chicken.     In  the  evening  the  proprietor  of  the  boats 
came,  asking  if  we  would  like  to  be  paddled  out  on  the 
lake.     It  was  a  case  of  paddling,  for  the  canoe  let  in  the 
water  as  quickly  as  two  men  could  bale  it  out.     Stacks  of 
grass  were  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  for  us  to  sit  on, 
but  we  got  horribly  wet.     The  beauty  of  the  scenery 
made  us  forget  this,  however.     From  the  eastern  shores 
rose,  sheer  out  of  the  lake,  cliffs  rising  to  800  or  900  feet, 
with  thick  vegetation  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge  ; 
and  round  the  wooded   banks  on  the    west   the   most 
gorgeously-coloured  birds  and  herons  sported  about.  The 
wide,    tranquil    waters,     like   a    great  sleeping  ocean, 
rested  in  a  dead  calm.     Suddenly,  without  the   least 
warning,  five  huge  hippopotami  raised  their  ugly  heads 
out  of  the  water  and  snorted  at  us  furiously,  which  made 
us  beat  a  hasty  retreat.     But  they  were  evidently  keen  on 
catching  another  glance  at  the  Europeans,  for  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  when  the  whole  camp  was  peacefully 
sleeping,  we  were  awakened  by  feeling  the  ground  literally 
shaking    under    us,       A    premonition    of    impending 
destruction    seized    us;    then    the    ropes    of   our    tent 
cracked,  and  we  made  for  the  poles,  which  were  tottering. 
But  the  tent  withstood  the  attack,  and  with  loud,  hungry 
snorts  our  clumsy  mammoth  intruders  trundled  off,  under 
cover  of  night,  to  seek  their  prey. 

The  people  round  the  southern  end  of  Uke  Albert  are 
extremely  primitive.  In  their  homes  is  no  indication  of 
the  least  exercise  of  intelligence  to  furnish  themselves 
with  any  tool,  utensil,  or  garment.  Only  a  very  few  of 
the  men  and  women  adopt  clothing  ;  their  food  consists 
almost  entirely  of  fish,  which  they  hang  out  in  the  sun  to 
dry.  Those  who  possess  a  boat,  a  cooking  pot,  or  a  food 
basket  have  obtained  them  from  other  folk  in  exchange 
for  fish,  or  inherited  them  from  their  ancestors.    There 

125 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

are  times  when  one  asks  if  the  soul  of  these  people  hu 
ceased  to  pulsate,  all  human  instincts  are  so  crushed  ia 
them.  But  even  here  were  the  temples  of  a  deity — in  the 
centre  of  each  courtyard  stood  a  rickety  wee  grass  hutch 
in  which  offerings  of  food  had  been  placed.  Carlyle  hu 
rightly  said  that  man  was  made  a  worshipping 
creature. 

At  evening  prayers  we  called  the  people  round  us,  and 
tried  to  talk  with  them.  One  typical  grey-haired  old 
heathen  appeared  interested,  but  hurried  the  audience 
back  to  their  homes  as  soon  as  possible.  When  we  pro- 
posed moving  off  to  a  village  higher  up  on  the  lake,  he 
generously  offered  himself  as  escort,  and,  on  our  reaching 
the  spot,  went  from  hut  to  hut,  as  we  thought,  asking  the 
people  to  bring  us  in  food  for  barter.  He  then  wished  us 
farewell  and  returned  to  his  home.  We  afterwards 
learned  that  he  was  circuit  priest  and  had  been  to  every 
home  forbidding  the  people  to  visit  or  listen  to  the  words 
of  the  white  ladies  for  fear  of  offending  their  god,  the  fish 
of  the  lake,  who  might  withhold  their  only  means  of 
sustenance.    Demetrius  has  many  descendants ! 

Judging  from  the  few  days  we  spent  roaming  along  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  I  should  say  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  a  more  fascinating  spot  for  a  holiday  when  once 
you  get  there.  The  botanist  finds  rare  treasures  hidden 
away  in  the  creeks  and  crevices  of  the  cliffs ;  the  sportr- 
man  has  a  free  hand  to  carry  home  as  many  hippo  teeth 
or  crocodile  hides  as  he  may  desire,  and  the  modem 
historian  would  find  on  its  shores  not  a  few  materials  for 
writing  up  the  story  of  present  day  Africa 

Quite  close  to  where  we  were  camped,  took  place  some 
years  ago  the  meeting  between  Emin  Pasha  and  bis 
rescuer,  the  late  Sir  Henry  Stanley,  who  had,  in  bis 
search  for  the  lost  s^eneral  and  his  column,  penetrated 
right  through  Africa  from  the  West  caist,  overcoming 
almost  insuperable  difficulties.    In  spite  of  the  attractiv^ 

128 


Holidays 

ness  of  the  Albert  Lake  it  is  scarcely  a  cheerful  plac*  to 
be  isolated  at,  and  standing  so  near  to  the  same  spot  one 
felt  a  strong  pity  for  that  Egyptian  leader  as  be  gave 
orders  for  his  boat  to  be  sunk  to  prevent  the  enemy 
seizing  it,  so  cutting  off  all  chance  of  his  own  escape. 

Time  has  wrought  a  phenomenal  change  ;  the  country 
from  being  threttened  by  strong  foes  on  the  north,  and 
harassed  by  rebellious  tribes  within  itself,  has  now  settled 
down  into  a  quiet  peace,  and  two  English  girls  were  able  to 
stroll  over  the  same  soil  in  perfect  safety,  with  nothing  to 
fear,  save  perhaps  that  they  themselves  should  fail  to  rise 
to  the  privileges  given  them  of  living  and  working  in  such 
a  land  where  lie  footprints  in  the  sands  of  time. 


127 


I        :i 


r.i-iS:^ 


I  ^  if'? 


CHAPTER  XV 

Tramp    III.     Through    the  Four 
Kingdoms  of  the  Protectorate 

THE  Uganda   Protectorate  is  built  up  of  four  inde* 
pendent    self-governing    kingdoms,    besides   some 
outlying  districts  to  the  South    East,  which  are 
under  the  control  of  Chiefs.    The  kingdoms  are— 
Uganda,  Toro,   Bunyuro,  and  Ankole.    Toro   is  ruled 
over  by  a  once  rebellious  branch  of  the  Bunyoro  tribe,  that 
many  years  ago  drove  out  the  original  irthabitants  and 
established  an  independent  kingdom.     With  this  excep- 
tion each  state  is  absolutely  distinct  from  the  other  in  the 
general  physique  and  customs  of  the  people.    All  of  the 
four  reigning  sovereigns  have  been   baptised    into   the 
Protestant  Faith,  and  excepting  in  the  case  of  Daudi 
Chwa,  King  of  Uganda,  who  is  at  present  but  a  small  lad, 
they  are  leading  exemplary  Christian  lives  and  helping 
forward  Missionary  work  in  every  way. 

A  circular  tour  of  600  or  700  miles  through  these 
districts  could  be  accomplished  just  within  one  month,  but 
this  would  involve  heavy  travelling  and  give  but  a  feeble 
chance  of  appreciating  the  rapid  transitions  that  are  met 
with  in  country,  animal  life,  and  people. 

It  took  us  nearly  nine  weeks  to  go  the  round,  as  our 
object  was  to  visit  all  the  mission  stations  along  the 
route.  In  Toro  we  deviated  slightly  from  the  direct  path 
in  order  that  church  sites  might  be  measured  and  pegged 

128 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 


out.  The  English  Government  some  months  before 
had  granted  to  the  native  church  a  certain  amount  of 
land  v.'hich  could  be  divided  up  and  marked  out  wherever 
required.  In  the  kingdom  of  Toro  about  130  plots  were 
chosen  where,  in  the  near  futuie  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
mission  centres  will  be  planted,  manned  by  trained  native 
teachers.  Already  between  go  and  100  have  been  taken 
up  and  occupied,  which  means  that  the  country  is  slowly 
being  n£t-wt)rked  with  Christian  testimony.  Measuring 
and  marking  out  land  in  these  parts  is  a  rather  complicated 
business.  Once  only  did  I  attempt  to  offer  the  help  of  my 
services,  and  never  again.  It  means  geometrically  describ- 
ing circles  and  right  angles  through  the  rankest  weeds  and 
tiger  grass,  stepping  it  out  through  swamp  and  marsh  ; 
planting  young  saplings  at  tvery  point  as  boundary  marks 
only  to  find  all  these  carefully  calculated  demarcations 
removed  after  perhaps  a  few  days,  to  suit  the  convenience 
of  one  of  the  land  holders  who  was  in  need  of  firewood, 
or  wished  to  extend  his  boundaries.  Quod  no»  erat 
faciendum. 

Startin;:;  from  Kabarole,  we  took  a  south-easterly 
direction  toward  Ankole,  making  the  first  halt  at  Isumba, 
a  charming  spot  on  the  banks  of  a  crater  lake.  There 
are  seven  more  of  these  large  volcano  puddles  in  the 
immediate  vicinity,  lying  in  the  heart  of  mountains  of 
various  altitudes.  The  waters  are  extremely  picturesque 
with  the  rich  tropical  vegetation  extending  from  the  lip 
of  the  crater  down  to  the  water's  edge.  Hippopotami 
plunge  about  in  the  day  time,  while  at  nieht  they  lug 
their  heavy  bodies  up  the  steep  bunks  and  snort  about 
from  one  lake  to  another  in  search  of  food.  The  country 
round  is  very  beautiful  and  reminds  one  faintlv  of 
Cumberland — hills,  mountains,  forests,  and  lakes — the 
monkeys  and  ourang-outangs,  however,  would  not  allow 
that  idea  to  take  root ;  they  made  a  fearful  noise  as  we 
passed  near  their  quarters.    They  were  too  much  for  our 

129  K 


1 


m 


3. ,  >i\ 
I*  n 


1'!; . 

fli 

1 ' '  i 

'/*   '. 

'%'* 


■p 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

little  fox  terrier,  who  worked  himself  into  a  great  rage  at 
being  unable  tu  Kct  at  these  intruders  of  the  peace;  he 
simply  made  lor  the  next  native  on  the  road  (evidently 
thinking  him  one  of  fhe  •^ame  tribtV  i  was  driven  off  at 
the  point  of  the  spear  that  his  ^.;itagonnt  was  carrying. 

The  forest  close  to  our  camp  was  swarming  with 
monkeys,  which  mado  wide  turning  movements  from 
branch  to  branch  when  dist  rbcd.  1  kept  on  wondering  if 
one  was  not  going  to  land  on  my  head.  The  two  days  old 
baby  monkeys  led  their  big  sedate  mammas  exhausting 
scampers  from  tree  to  tree.  What  a  good  thing  it  is 
that  they  improve  in  behaviour  during  the  process  of 
evolution  ! 

At  9.0  p.m.  a  mcssas;e  came  asking  me  to  give  medicine 
to  a  sick  person  close  to  camp.  Taking  our  lantern  we 
went  out  and  administered  physic,  then  hastened  home 
as  lions  could  be  heard  roaring  some  distance  away.  The 
oil  unfortunately  gave  out  before  we  reached  our  tent, 
and  I  must  admit  to  a  horrid  sensation  of  fear  lest  one 
of  them  should  spring  out  upon  us  from  the  pitchy 
darkness,  as  the  roaring  seei  led  to  get  nearer  and  nearer. 

In  the  morning  our  cowman  came  in  with  the  tidings 
that  one  of  these  creatures  had  broken  through  the  zariba 
built  round  the  cowshed  and  run  off  with  one  of  the 
calves. 

While  encamped  there  a  terrible  slorm  visited  us  in 
the  afternoon.  We  had  watched  the  clouds  rapidly 
gathering  from  all  directions,  increasing  in  density  and 
rapidity  until  they  collided  together  and  crashed  with 
terrific  force  on  a  near  hill,  blotting  out  all  objects  from 
view.  Then,  with  united  energy,  these  heavily  charged 
thunder  clouds  bore  down  upon  us  with  such  anger  that 
it  seemed  our  little  tents  must  be  torn  up  and  twisted  into 
shreds.  All  the  porters  had  been  called  out  to  stand  each 
at  his  post  to  meet  the  enemy ;  and  right  well  they  did  it, 
too,  for  as  the  tent  cords  snapped  we  must  have  soon  been 

130 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms    * 

houseless  if  the  men  had  not  held  on  to  poles  and  canvas. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  storm  had  passed,  and  then 

the  porteri  set  to  work,  repairing  ropes,  hammering  in 
pegs,  and  redigging  the  trench  round  the  tent. 

The  following  day.  after  a  hot.  dusty  march,  we  reached 
one  of  the  mission  stations,  and  before  we  had  the  chance 
of  a  wash-up  and  rest,  the  teacher  came  begging  us  to  go 
to  the  church,  where  the  people  were  all  waiting.  So  in 
wc  wont  and  found  nearly  two  hundr  .  squeezed  into  the 
tiny  reed  budding  (intended  to  hold  one  hundred)  all 
roaring  from  the   various  grades   of  the  reading  sheet. 

nstead  of  stopping  the  clatter  when  we  entered,  a  sign 
from  the  teacher  made  each  one  put  greater  exertion  into 
his  reading  and  they  simply  yelled  out  their  lesson  to 
impress  us  with  the  pro  ress  they  were  making. 

After  I  short  service  with  them,  we  were  escorted  to 
our  tent  by  a  considerable  following.     When  my  medicine 
chest  appeared  the  scene  was  like  the  "Zoo"  let  loose 
Aguard  had  to  stand  round  to  prevent  me  from  being 
suffocated;  of  course  the  majority  of  .:.e  applica  ...  wer* 


shams.  They  wat  hed  to  see  which  patient  i 
largest  d(«e.  then  a-v  -d  him  what  his  complai 
b\   the  time  they  had  pushed  their  way  to  th 


'ved  »he 


or 


were  suffering  fr  ,m  the  same  trouble,  but  in  an  .-a  .' 
On  the  fourth  Jay  we  reached  the  capital  of  a  - 
country  Ki'agwenda.  Toro  is  divided  up  into  five  large 
cliieftainbh.ps  or  sazas.  each  of  which  is  governed  by  a 
man  who  has  tributary  chiefs.  The  "lord"  of  Kitag- 
wenda  was  ready  in  state  to  receive  us  as  we  arri-v 
His  round  reed  house  is  built  or  ..e  brow  of  a  hill,  a,,.  >l 
surrounded  by  a  tall,  imposing  plaited  reed  fence.  As 
v.e  slowly  climbed  up  t ne  broad,  well-kept  path,  the 
chief,  dressed  in  white  linen,  came  down  to  meet  us  with 
a  large  crowd  of  followe.  s.  He  was  very  keen  on  impress- 
|ng  us  with  his  greatness,  so  ordered  a  drum  to  precede 
him  and  one  piper.    The  peopk  were  all  wildly  excited, 

ISl 


fii 


r  I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

dancing  and  shouting  themselves  husky.      While  this 
pandemonium  was  at  its  height,  two  poor,  miserable- 
looking  fat-tailed  sheep  were   pushed  forward   for   our 
acceptance.       With   these  Uganda  sheep  all   the  good 
points  were  embodied  in  the  tails.     These  are  often  as 
broad  as  the  back,  and  hang  in  festoons  almost  to  the 
ground.    They  are  poor  creatures,  and  are  not  cheap  at 
2s.  8d.,  which  is  their  market  value.     I  doubt  whether 
one  animal  contains  as  much  nourishment  as  two  pounds 
of  Welsh  mutton.     At  this  place  two  of  our  first  trained 
women  teachers  had  been  at  work.   They  had  experienced 
some  difficulty  in  getting  the  women  int-rested,  for  digging, 
cultivating,  and  cooking  had  provided  ample  excuse  for 
staying  in  their  homes.     On  the  second  day  of  our  visit 
we  rallied  all  the  women  together  at  the  tall  mission 
church  and  urged  them  to  stand  by  their  teachers,  who 
had  come  with  a  message  of  love  and  peace  and  \  ould 
instruct  them  ii-  wisdom.     There  and  then  classes  were 
formed,  and  some  sixty  came  forward  for  dai';      .thing. 
At  night  a  body  of  soldiers  were  sent  down  by  the  chief 
to  guard  our  camp  against  the  lions,  which  were  very 
numerous  in  these  parts.     The  head  officer,  feeling  the 
importance  of  his  commission,  essayed  to  issue  his  com- 
mands in  true  British  fashion  by  using  a  few     ords  he  had 
picked  up  from   the  English  lieutenant   in    foro.     He 
drilled  his  men  just  outside  our  tent  door,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  language  of  their  general,  as  he  bawled 
out  incomprehensible  English,  was  quite  a  conundrum  to 
the  men,  and  in  concealed  whispers  he  was  obliged  to 
repeat  his  orders  in  the  native  tongue. 

A  remarkably  fine  view  of  Ruwenzori  snows  was 
obtained  at  the  junction  of  Ankoie  and  Toro.  With  no 
cloud  to  intercept,  miles  of  glittering  ice  stood  out 
against  a  sapphire  sky,  and  pushed  down  a  hundred 
streams  chat  tumbled  in  impetuous  speed  and  flowed  as 
swift  rivulets  through  the  forests  that  crossed  our  path. 

132 


w'% 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

Only  those  who  have  known  the  weariness  of  continual 
walking  in  the  tropics  can  rightly  appreciate  the  joy  that 
these  forest  shades  and  the  cool,  refreshing  rivers  bring. 
At  no  time  of  the  year  could  the  country  have  been  seen 
to  better  advantage ;  the  grass  fires  had  carried  off  all  the 
long  withered  grass,  and  the  hills  were  now  carpetted  with 
fresh,  green  glades.  The  forests  displayed  a  strange 
variety  of  colouring,  for  the  young  buds  of  spring,  the 
luxuriant  verdure  of  summer,  blended  in  exquisite  con- 
trast  and  harmony  with  the  gold  and  ruddy  tints  of 
autumn.  Shrubs  of  wild  jessamine  and  seven-petalled 
tuber  roses  were  in  rich  bloom  on  the  roadside.  These 
latter  are  called  by  the  natives  "  Eky  skulema  njoju," 
"that  which  gets  the  better  of  the  elephants,"  for 
although  the  bark  is  comparatively  slender,  it  can  stub- 
bornly resist  the  force  of  the  powerful  elephant  trunks 
that  make  matchwood  of  the  larger  forest  trees. 

Two  days  further  marching  brought  us  to  the  boundary 
of  Ankole,  and  glad  were  we  to  leave  behind  the  rains  of 
Toro,  which  had  made  the  paths  so  slimy  that  with  diffi- 
culty we  maintained  the  perpendicular.  Our  peaceab'e 
caravan  was  evidently  mistaken  for  a  raiding  horde.  The 
villagers  were  in  a  most  perturbed  state  of  mind  as  we 
pressed  on  ;  the  men  collected  together  all  their  women. 
children,  and  goats  and  packed  them  off  with  all  speed  to 
hide  in  the  swamps  and  hills,  while  a  few  of  them 
remained  hidden  on  the  outskirts  of  the  huts  to  sound  an 
alarm  at  oi  •  approach. 

The  language  at  this  point  deviated  from  that  spoken 
by  the  people  of  Toro.  Besides  employing  a  few  entirely 
different  words,  the  Banyankole  soften  down  the  s,  j,  and 
k,  and  until  the  ear  has  become  accusto'ned  to  these 
changes  one  might  imagine  it  a  distinct  dialect.  A  rather 
welcome  sight  was  the  men  working  on  the  roads  and 
digging  in  the  banana  plantations,  in  place  of  the  peasant 
voman  who  do  all  the  rough  manual  work  in  Toro. 

133 


■ 

1 

i 

fW' 

f    } 

1 

i 

f' 

1 

1111 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Ankole  is  a  lar^e  ranch  country.   A  gentle  range  of  moun- 
tarns  extending  toward  the  east  shores  of  the  Albert 
tdward  IS  the  only  interruption  to  an  extensive  area  of 
rollmg  land  of  which  the  whole  kingdom  is  composed.  It 
s  mhab.ted  by  two  separate  races,  the  Bairu.  who  are 
the  ongmal  people  of  the  country,  and  the  Bahima.  the 
ruhng  race.     The  latter  are  an  extremely  superior  order 
of  people ;  generally  speaking,  they  are  of  lighter  com- 
ple^xion.  and  their  features,  in  the  sharply  defined  nose 
and  chm  and  the  thin  lips,  are  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
other     tribes     of    inland    Africa.       Another    peculiar 
characteristics  that  the  women  live  in  entire,  seclusion 
and  keep  .he  face  and  head  covered,  as  in  Mahommedan 
lands.       It  IS  generally  believed  that  they  migrated  from 
Abyssmia  or  Arabia  ;  probably  disease  among  their  cattle 
drove  them  from  their  native  land,  and  they  travelled 
south  until  they  reached  the  pasture  land  of  Ankole. 

At  first  sight  the  country  looks  scarcely  inhabited- 
there  are  no  fences  or  patches  of  cultivation  which  else- 
where  denote  villages.  The  population,  however,  is  con- 
siderable,  but  the  people  are  a  tribe  of  herdsmen,  who 
build  unpretentious  l.ttle  grass  huts  among  the  soft, 
waving  grass,  and  live  almost  exclusively  on  their  cattle 
whic'i  graze  together  in  enormous  herds.  The  oxen  are 
splendid  creatures,  with  immense  horns ;  there  is  not  so 
much  hump  with  them  as  with  the  cattle  of  Uganda 

The  unvaried  diet  of  milk  and  butter  has  produced 
a  people  of  abnormal  dimensions.  The  King,  although 
only  about  19  years  of  age,  weighed  20  stone.  He  -ould 
not  walk,  but  had  to  be  carried  about  in  a  gigantic  kind 
of  clothes-basket.  One  httle  chief  waddled  into  cur  tent 
to  salute  us  who  stcod  about  three  feet  high  and  was 
nearly  twice  as  large  in  circumference.  The  higher 
a  person  is  in  social  position  the  larger  is  the  amount  of 
milk  he  must  daily  get  down  in  order  that  he  ma>  reach 
a  worthy  correspondence  in  weight.     On  one  occasion, 

134 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

while  walking  along  the  road,  we  heard  screaming  and 
shouting  coming  from  a  hut,  and,  on  going  in  to  find  out 
the  cause,  saw  a  young  princess  with  her  eyes  bandaged 
and  face  dripping  with  milk ;  an  old  hag  was  standing 
over  her  with  a  cane,  which  she  brought  sharply 
down  across  her  shoulders  when  the  unfortunate  girl 
declared  she  could  take  in  no  more  milk.  Being 
remonstrated  with,  the  old  woman  explained  how  the 
young  princess  was  only  going  through  the  customary 
preparation  for  her  bridal  days. 

As  Uganda  gradually  opens  dp,  Ankole  will  probably 
become  the  Leadenhall  Market  of  the  Protectorate. 
Excellent  roads  have  been  cut  ior  transport  to  Entebbe, 
on  the  shores  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  to  Albert  Edward 
Nyanza  and  Koki,  and  the  Government  has  built  a  strong 
fort  at  Mbarara,  the  capital  of  Ankole,  which  is 
under  civil  and  military  control. 

After  years  of  bigoted  opposition  to  the  missionaries, 
the  country  has  now  been  thrown  open  to  them.  A  large 
mud  church  had  just  been  completed  when  we  visited 
there,  and  a  large  number  of  men  and  women  were  under 
Christian  instruction.  Por  generations  there  had  stood 
in  the  Royal  courtyaru  a  large  drum,  which  was 
absolutely  believed  to  bring  death  to  the  King  who  beat 
It.  Immediately  after  the  baptism  of  the  King,  he, 
Kahaya,  in  the  sight  of  a  large  crowd  of  his  subjects,  went 
deliberately  towards  the  drum;  then,  loosening  the 
sticks,  he  stood  for  a  moment  looking  round  at  his 
pei  pie,  who  were  expecting  his  instantaneous  death. 
With  one  mighty  swing  he  brought  the  sticks  down 
on  the  drum,  which  only  thundered  out,  as  it  were,  the 
doom  which  fell  that  day  on  their  old  heathen 
superstitions. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  the  capital  we  went  to  pay  our 
respects  to  the  Royal  Household. 
Passing  out  from  the  new  mud  "  palace  "  of  the  King, 

135 


r  :3> 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

I  went  across  to  the  ladies'  quarters.     The  seven  wives  of 
His  Majesty   Kahaya,  who  at  that   time  was  only  an 
inquirer  after  Christianity,  were  all  sitting  silently  in  a 
semi-circle  round  the  inside  of  their  grass  hut.     The 
atmosphere  was    unbearably    stuffy,    and    reeking  with 
odours  of  rancid  butter,  for  the  custom  is  to  rub  this  well 
into  their  bodies,  and,  without  washing  off  the  stale,  thev 
rub  in  a  fresh  quantity  each  day.     They  treat  in  exactly 
the  same  way  the  bark  cloths  in  which  they  entirely 
envelop  themselves.    Not  until  I  had  become  accustomed 
to  the  dim  light  could  I  distinguish  the  seven  shrouded, 
dusky  figures.     Then  they  resembled  so  many  ant  heaps. 
After  the  usual  voluminous  salutations,  they  begged  me 
to  take  off  my  hat  and  show  my  hair.      I  agreed,  if  they, 
on   their   part,    showed    me    their  faces.     Immediately 
fourteen  merry  eyes  popped  out  of  the  oily  bark  cloths, 
and  a  row  of  fat,  smiling  faces  appeared.     After  satisfy- 
ing their  inquisitive  questions  about  my  clothes,  my  age, 
my  parents,  and  how  long  I  had  been  married,  I  tried  to 
find  out  a  little  about  them.     From  what  I  could  learn, 
they  seemed  to  spend  all  their  lives  huddled  together  as  I 
saw  them,  with  absolutely  nothing  to  do  except  to  feed. 
They  neither  cooked,  sewed,  plaited  grass,  cultivated,  nor 
worked  at  any  of  the  small  industries  common  among 
other  tribes.     The  Christian  women  teachers  were  visit- 
mg  them  each  day,  and  a  large  number  of  women  had 
shown  a  real  desire  to  read.     As  their  minds  have  been 
allowed    to    lie   dormant   for  so  long,  it   is  a  wonder 
that  they  can  learn  to  do  so  really  quickly. 

After  a  few  happy  days  spent  in  Ankole,  we  pushed 
on  in  a  south-easterly  direction  to  Koki.  Scarcity  of 
water  necessitated  rather  longer  marches  than  usual  so  I 
mdulged  in  the  luxury  of  a  hammock.  Six  men  wei« 
taken  on  as  carriers  who  did  not  understand  the  art  in  th* 
least.  Ihey  literally  galloped  away  with  me.  The 
hammock  swung  to  and  fro  with  such  force  that  the  rope* 

136 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

on  the  pole  gradually  slackened,  and  the  canvas  hung 
like  a  sling  with  its  burden  doubled  up  inside.  My 
gesticulations  and  calls  were  quite  unavailing,  as  the 
carriers  ran  on,  singing  gaily ;  then  they  suddenly  hauled 
the  pole  or  from  one  shoulder  to  another,  which  was 
more  than  it  could  stand,  and,  with  a  squeak  of  pain,  the 
ropes  burst,  and  the  hammock  fell  with  a  big  bump  to 
the  ground.  While  I  stood  endeavouring  to  recover 
from  the  rather  boisterous  mode  of  travelling,  the  carriers 
walked  round  inspecting  the  shattered  ropes  and  con- 
gratulated each  other  on  being  such  men  of  strength  ! 

We  had  reached  a  wide,  scorching  plain  with  no  trees 
or  shelter  save  a  few  tall  thorn  bushes,  which  made  the 
ground  all  about  like  a  pincushion  with  the  points  stand- 
ing out.  We  had  come  along  at  such  a  rate  that  the 
caravan  and  lunch  basket  were  miles  behind.  One 
hundred  and  five  minutes  were-  spent  under  that  thorn 
bush  waiting  for  the  rear  with  nothing  to  read,  nothing 
to  look  at,  and  nothing  to  eat.  I  tried  to  think  a  thought 
that  might  find  a  niche  in  my  next  journal  letter,  but  the 
sun  must  have  nearly  melted  all  the  brain  cells  as  it 
poured  down  its  burning  rays,  for  nothing  took  shape. 
To  punish  the  men  for  their  rash  behaviour  I  inflicted  on 
my  carriers  the  punishment  of  searching  for  firewood,  so 
that  when  our  detached  corps  joined  us  we  soon  had  the 
kettle  singing  and  a  chicken  frizzling  to  replenish 
exhausted  strength  and  revive  our  fainting  spirits.  The 
following  morning  camp  was  awake  at  4.0  a.m.,  and  a 
hurried  start  was  made  in  the  dark  so  as  to  get  the  day's 
march  over  before  the  sun  had  a  chance  of  treating  us  as 
It  had  done  previously.  But  it  was  rather  an  unfortunate 
day  to  have  tried  the  experiment,  as  our  path  for  the  first 
three  or  four  miles  skirted  a  long  swamp,  the  haunt  of 
mosquitoes,  and  these  little  pests  had  not  been  frightened 
away  by  sunrise  before  we  ventured  through  their 
domain.     They    swarmed    round    us  like  locusts,  and 

137 


I  tf 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

although  we  kept  furiously  beting  out  at  them  in  all 

afterwards  was,  for  the  first  time  in  mv  exDeri«n^ 
ujeffectual  in  allaying  the  inflam.ationTnd  So"' 
We  sp.ed  a  few  monkeys  in  the  trees,  but  instead  of  S 
up  to  the.rusua  pranks  they  solemnly  sat  staring  at  e^h 
other.  looking  deplorably  sorry  for  themselves;  eviden^y 
he  mosqu.toes  had  proved  too  much  even  for  them  T2 
su^^they  would  have  been  willing  to  pay  a  pied  p-;;^ 

R«t!.".i?''^  '^^■'',  J°"^"'-'>'"^'  f'-o"'  Ankole  we  reached 
Raka.,  the  capital  of  Koki.  The  C.M.S.  had  two  Iadi« 
stationed  there  and  an  ordained  Muganda. 

overtvK'l',"  ^''''""  ^^^"--^  ^"  independent  kingdom  ruled 

Zv^LY  T  ?-"'  '"  '*'""*  y'""''  ''  has  been  joined 
to  Uganda,  on  the  K.ng  agreeing  to  become  a  "  Sa«  " 
of  his  stronger  neighbours. 

rich InT'"^  ^T  ^''''  ^'">''*''  ^^'''^h  ^^'"^^  ^^out  among 
•n  th^H        '      vegetation,  the  scenery  is  unattractive^ 

rncel7h '''"'"  ''*'  ""'^^''>'  '''''  Sives  an  anemic  app<^ 
ance  to  the  country,  ard  the  rather  too  plentiful  sS 

alw::ThTnT'^K"  '  '"^^  '''^'  ofquinL^b^S 
always  at  hand.     Kamswaga  himself  at  that  time  had 

fxL'JS  '"■^T:''^',  ""  ''^^'"*'^^'  h^*  hearing  of  o^ 
1^6  ''";  ^'Vf  "'  *  ^'•^^^'"g  •"  the  shape  of  ." 
ox  and  quantities  of  food  for  our  caravan.  Vigors  b 
these  parts  were  rather  a  novelty,  and  the  peop  e  ^o^ 

'ro?  r  "r'r.*° '°°'  *^  "^-  ^  -^--"^ 

ZL       u  "-^^   ^^"'^^^Sa  before  leaving.    Her 

reception  house  qu.clJy  filled  with  a  number  of  men  and 
women,  each  trying  to  get  a  word  in  edgeways  with  the 
^hite  ••  visitor.  A  handful  of  boiled  coffeeTa'st  t 
^hedTn  h^'"''  ?  "'  ^°  ^•^P^"^^  *°  whomsoever  I 

^  verv  li^°rH";  .r  °''^^'  ^°  ^^'''^  *  '^^-'  but  that 
^  very  hm.ted.  for  they  are  as  hard  as  nuts  to  crack  aod 

like  physic  to  swallow.    On  leaving  they  pressed  round 

138 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

and  bedecked  my  wrists  with  all  sorts  of  curious  wire 
and  bead  bracelets  which  they  had  taken  off  themselves. 

The  work  being  carried  on  there  was,  happily, 
prospering.  The  school,  daily  classes,  and  the  church, 
holding  two  hundred  people,  were  well  attended. 

A  whole  day's  excursion  in  a  native  skiff  on  the  Lake 
gave  us  an  opportunity  of  seeing  something  of  the  village 
work  that  has  been  opened  up  by  the  Mother  Church  of 
Rakai.  We  could  not  stuy  longer  than  three  days,  as 
there  was  still  a  long  programme  before  us.  Budu  was 
the  next  district  on  the  list  to  be  visited. 

This  is  the  stronghold  of  Roman  Catholicism.  At 
every  side  road  we  found  a  tall  wooden  cross  standing  and 
nearly  everybody  wore  a  medallion  or  scapular. 

At  Kajuna  the  people  were  evidently  not  accustomed  to 
seeing  European  visitors,  and  they  came  tearing  out  of 
their  houses  like  mad  creatures,  dancing  round  us  and 
clapping  their  hands.  It  was  a  perfect  pandemonium, 
and  we  were  not  sorry  to  escape  from  such  a  rabble. 

The  two  missionaries  welcomed  us  very  warmly.  Thuy 
were  hard  at  work  on  a  much  needed  house  for  them- 
selves. The  new  building  was  a  unique  structure,  for  it 
was  built  only  of  one  brick— that  is,  the  walls  were  formed 
of  solid  mud  beaten  down  between  wooden  boards,  which 
were  removed  when  the  mud  had  dried.  The  roof  was 
thatched  with  strips  of  banana  bark  knotted  on  rows  of 
poles.  This  is  supposed  to  offer  stronger  resistance  to 
lightning  than  the  usual  grass.  A  regular  timber  yard 
had  been  set  up  in  a  strip  of  Forest  close  by  to  supply 
doors  and  windows  for  the  new  house,  anu  the  natives 
were  receiving  from  the  missionary  practical  lessons  in 
carpentering  as  they  felled  the  trees,  adzed  them  out  and 
then  sawed  out  planks  in  pits.  The  scene  suggested 
pictures  of  Canadian  life  among  the  Rockies.  Truly  a 
missionary  in  Uganda  is  a  compendium  of  trades. 
One  of  our  hosts  was  an  out-and-out  Irishman,  and 

139 


:«S  1 


u 


i 


»«. 


I'f 


■  ^ 

,-. 

Li 

i 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

when  he  was  joined  by  an  enthusiastic  compatriot  the 
conversation  waxed  very  warm.  I  wonder  if  everyone 
belonging  to  the  Emerald  Isle  regards  it  as  the  pole-star 
of  the  Un.verse-the  two  Sassenachs  did  not  quite  agnt 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  twenty-one  men  and  women 
were  bemg  finally  questioned  with  a  view  to  baptism 
No  chiefs  were  then  under  Protestant  instruction,  and  in 
consequence  there  was  little  inducement  for  their 
dependents  to  associate  themselves  with  our  missionaries 
It  was  therefore  very  pleasing  to  find  this  number  leady 
to  publicly  confess  their  faith  in  baptism,  for  one  felt 
they  must  have  been  prompted  by  an  honest  and  sincere 
conviction. 

A  fifteen  miles  march  from  Kajuna  brought  us  to  the 
shores  of  the  Uke  Victoria  Nyanza.  Nearly  six  miles  of 
the  road  was  across  a  sand  plain,  and  walking  it  was  too 
much  for  me.  for  the  boot  at  each  step  sank  in  four  to  six 
inches  of  burning  sand.  I  was  obliged  to  call  the 
hammock-bearers  to  my  assistance,  who  panted  along 
without  a  murmur;  but  when  they  had  safely  landed  me 
under  the  first  tree  of  a  lovely  wood,  they  exclaimed 
We  are  nearly  dead." 

The  two  boats  provided  for  us  looked  very  frail  and 
small  to  carry  two  Europeans,  eight  "boys,"  two  steers- 
men, two  balers-out  of  water,  twelve  rowers,  and  all  our 
loads.  The  boats  on  this  Lake  are  constructed  of  boards 
hewn  out  by  native  knives,  and  sewn  together  with  cane. 
There  are  no  seats  for  passengers,  but  sticks  and  grass 
are  laid  at  the  bottom.  There  was  a  big  gale  blowinf 
when  we  wanted  to  make  a  start-foam-crested  wav«s 
broke  on  the  shingly  shore  as  if  it  had  been  the  Atlantic. 
One  IS  surprised  to  miss  the  brine  in  the  spray,  forgetting 
momentarily  that  so  immense  an  expanse  of  fretful  water 
IS  other  than  an  ocean.  We  waited  two  hours  for  the 
storm  to  abate,  when  the  boatmen  came  saying  we  coald 

140 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

put  off.    As  soon,  however,  as  wc  had  rowed  well  out,  the 
wind   got    up   again    and    blew   with    terrJBc  force; 
immediately  the  lake  was  lashed  into  anger,  and  had  no 
mercy  on  our  little  craft.  The  oarsmen  were  quite  unable 
to  keep  her  from  being  driven  broadside  to  the  storm. 
Sitting'  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat  we  watched  wave  after 
wave  bear  down  upon  us  like  a  wall  and  break  over  our 
heads.     The  boatmen  assured   us  that    we    could    not 
stand  much  more,  for  the  cane  fibre  that  kept  the  boat 
together  was  rotten  and  giving  way  under  the  strength  of 
the  breakers.    The  heavy  tossing  made  us  feel  wretchedly 
sea-sick,  bul  we  dared  not  let  our  courage  flag,  as  the 
men  were  losing  heart.     We  had  drifted  completely  out 
of  our  course,  but  fortunately  were   driven  toward  one  of 
the  Sese  Islands,  which  wc  ultimately  reached,  drenched 
through  and  very  exhausted.      Here  we  pitched  our  tent 
for  the  night,  and  as  evcnirg  came  a  dead  calm  settled 
down  on  the  Lake,  and   insect  life  awoke,    swarming 
round  us  in  clouds.     All  night  we  kept   waking  up  to 
assure  o-:rselves    that  we   had   not  contracted  sleeping 
sicknes.s  as  this  was  one  of  the  haunts  of  that  disease. 

The  next  morning  dawned  bright  and  calm,    so  we 
started  before  r-jurise,  startling  the  many  gulN,  divers, 
and  herons  that  were  indulging  iu  a  morning  bath.    The 
paddlers  broke  out  into  weird  iiautxal  songs;  there  is 
gensrally  one  man  in  a  boat  whose  special  work  is  to 
ie;  d  tl:e  singing  to  encourage  the  oarsmen.     He  begins 
with  a  loud  shrill  note,  sustaining  >  with  a  few  minor 
variations  till  a  short  stanza  of  the  song  is  sung ;   then  all 
the  others  join  in  with  a  deep,  guttural  grunt  of  assent  to 
the  words  ;  this  is  repeated  over  and  over  and  over  again 
until  the  voice  cracks.     Seven  hours'  rowing  was  as  much 
as  they  would  undertake  in  a  day.  so  we  landed  on  a 
beautiful  little  island  which  since  then  has  been  entirely 
depopulated   by  sleeping  sickness.      The  sun    was  just 
about  to  say  good  night  when  we  put  into  Entebbe  on  the 

141 


i_:l L 


It  < 


If  '  iSf^ 


On  the  Borders  cf  Pigmy  Land 

following  day.  Th,  view  from  the  water  was  quite  en- 
chanting.  A  bold,  ux-ky  promontory  n;mindc.:  one  of  a 
bit  of  the  bord  riand  oast  Jx-twccn  En^jland  and  Scot- 
land,  otherwise  the  shore  and  islands  were  covered  with 
the  most  prodigious  forest  growth. 

As  we  landed  from  the  boats   and  looked  up  at  this 
town  we  really  asked   ourselves   if  this  wer.;    Uganda 
There  are  rows  of  neat  villas  with  the  ^fri>  ;  of  gardeni 
back  and  front  resemblin-  the  bijous  of  London  suburban 
life;  splendid  wide  road    with  ..venues  of  tees  planted- 
a  market  with  an   English  butcher,  a  dairy,  an  Indian' 
bakery   where  delicious  little  loaves  can  be  purchased  for 
four  annas,  and  an  apgressive  Indian    firm  that  is  the 
William  VVhiteley  of  Uganda,  and  manufactures  mineral 
waters  at  two  annas  per  bottle,    are  some  among  the 
many  surprises.      There  is  a  very  cosmopolitan  popula- 
tion,  and  comparatively  few  of  the  real  natives— Baganda 
--are  seen  in  the  town.     The  fifty  or  more  European* 
made  it  feel  very  homelike  after  the  isolated  life  in  Toto; 
and  yet  after  the  first  surprised  impressions  had  partially 
worn  off,  one  was   conscious  of  two  distinct  elements 
running  side  by  side— the  English  and  the  African— with- 
out  actually  becoming  assimilated  the  one  by  the  other. 
The  result   was    that  so  many    reminders  of  England 
brought  with  them  fcelingsof  home-sickness,  but  the  next 
moment  one  was  sympathising  with  the  country  yokel  in 
London  who  pined  fur  the  rusticity  of  village  home  life. 
Our  four  days  there  were  spent  very  pleasantly.  Colonel 
Sadler,    H.M.   Commissioner,  Mrs.  Sadler,   and  several 
friends  were  most  kind  and  hospitable ;    indeed  we  were 
almost  strangers  to  our  tents. 

A  visit  to  the  Botanical  Gardens  .Nas  most  interestinf. 
Mr.  Mahon,  who  was  then  in  charge,  took  us  round  and 
pointed  out  the  tea,   coffee,  cocoa    and  cotton    shmbc    I 
which  gave  promise  of  agreeing  very  amiably  with  their    \ 
newly-adoptcd  land.      Fruit  trees,  vines  and  pine  app'w 

142 


,M. 


I 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

were  als',  !,eing  experimented  ..n.  and  the  flower  beds 
were  aflame  with  colour.  The  idea  i ,  I  believe,  to  test 
what  flounshes  successfully  in  the  Uganda  «,il.  then  to 
.<-nd  out  cuttmgs  and  encourage  the  cultivation  of  that 
plant  throutrhout  the  Protectorate.  Colonel  Coles,  who 
.s.n  command  of  the  troops,  is  a  very  keen  horticul- 
turahst  and  ha.  been  most  successful  in  rose-growing 
and  m  brmgmg  to  perfection  the  native  crinum  lily 

Leavmg  Entebbe,  we  made  for  Port  Munyonyo  by 
canoe,  which  took  six  hours  in  consequence  of  a  wind 
workmg  agamst  us  all  the  way.      Reaching  the  Port  at 

uildir.  7h  .       "°  '''"'  '°  '"'P""*  '^'  ^•^^^"^  dhow. 
building  that  was  m  operation.     We  hurried  off  on  our 

^ven  o  eight  mile  walk  into  Mengo.  which  we  reached 
^  atoes  were  bemg  served  up  by  our  kind  hostess  as  we 

Z  that  o         '  "'  l''.""'^'  •'"J°y^^  ^  '^•--  -o- 
h.n  that  one.  as  we  had  eaten  nothing  since  7.0  a.m 

h  onlythmgs  procurable  from  our  food  basket  in  the 

This  was  the  only  time  I  had  visited  Mengo  since  Brst 
mving  m  the  country,  and  it  was  interesting  to  find  ou 
how  many  of  one's  first  impressions  remained.     Two 

SeTnd^^'  ''*"  *r^  ^  ^°""^^^  unpenetrated  ": 
people  and  language  unknown,  and  now  in  a  limited- 

ery  limited-degree  the  closed  door  had  been  pushed 

h'rt"t:m  Tr''"^  '""  "•*'•■"  ''^  »'-"  revealed  7^ 
leV  !  ^^T^'^ru'"'^  *°  ^""^  '"^'^^  ^°"d«rful  pro. 
gr^s.  A  colossal  bnck  cathedral  stood  on  the  site  of 
^he  previous  wicker  building;  it  is  a  striking  witness  of 
what  the  Baganda  can  be  taught  to  accomplish  under 

cnrrr  "'  '''!  •"^*^"*^*'°"  and'supenmen 
d  veToL     ^    T  IT'^'**'     '^^^  educational  work  had 
developed  considerably.     At  8.0  one  morning  we  went 
across  to  Mr.  HattersJey's  boys  school :  he  ceftaTnly C 

143 


fill 


i 


MICROCOPY   RESOLUTION    TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


A    APPLIED  IM^GE 


553   East   Ma.n   street 
f^ochester.   New   Vork  -c- 

(7t6)   482  -  0300  '  Phone 
(716)   288  -  5989  -  Fa, 


1   Kt, 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

his  work  cut  out,  for  I  should  not  like  to  guess  at  the 
number  of  men  and  boys  that  were  packed  into  the  large 
class  rooms,  through  which  ran  rows  of  desks  and  forms 
made  at  the  Industrial  Mission.     At  each  class  stood  a 
native  teacher  setting  sums  or  copies  on  the  blackboards. 
His  pupils  were  a  strange  collection,  for  a  grey-bearded 
old  chief  would  be  sitting  next  to  a  sharp  eyed  infant, 
both  eagerly  wrestling  with  pen  and  ink.      Specimens  of 
writing,  which   had  been  acquired  in  six  months,  were 
shown  to  us,  and  they  compared  very  fa\orably  with  a 
fourth  or  fifth  standard  in   England.     Every  afternoon 
classes  were  held  for  the  teachers  for  instruction  in  black- 
board writing,  geography,  astronomy,  natural  history  and 
Scripture,  and   these   men  were  being   sent  out  to  the 
villages  for    educational   work,   when   their  course  was 
completed.     Since  that  time,  scholastic  work  has  received 
very  special  attention.     A  boarding  high  school  for  the 
sons  of  chiefs  was  opened  in  1904,  and  the  number  of 
lads    that   were    immediately   sent    by   their  fathers  or 
guardians  was  a  proof  of  its  need.     The  Baganda  are 
quite  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the  time  has  come  to 
rouse  and  equip  themselves  in  order  that  they  may  be 
able  to  stand  before  the  civilized  nations  with  whom  they 
are  now  brought  so  closely  in  touch. 

A  third  school  is  also  in  course  of  erection,  which  will 
be  an  intermediate  step  for  those  desiring  to  train  after- 
wards for  Holy  Orders. 

The  Industrial  Department  of  the  Mission  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  necessary  and  practical  methods  of  help- 
ing these  people  who  possess  no  trades  or  crafts  of  their 
own.  On  passing  along  the  road  toward  the  Industrial 
quarters,  one  sees  a  crowd  of  men  hard  at  work  in  the 
brick-fields,  and  others  employed  at  rope-making.  Enter- 
ing the  actual  work-shop  compound  a  buzz  and  whirr  of 
machinery  meet  the  ear.  The  first  building  is  the 
carpenter's  sheds ;  here  were  men  turning  out  book-cases, 

144 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

chairs,  tables,  and  really  a  first-class  sideboard.  Across 
the  courtyard  the  printers  and  stitchers  were  hard  at 
work  producing  Lunyoro  hymn  sheets,  Luganda  hymns, 
Luganda  commentary  on  St.  Mark,  and  a  book  of  Uganda 
fables  by  Ham  Mukasa.  Until  within  six  months  of  our 
visit  all  this  work,  including  the  building  of  the 
Cathedral,  had  been  started  and  supervised  by  one  man. 
Uganda  owes  a  great  debt  to  Mr.  Borup  for  the  in- 
valuable help  thus  rendered  to  the  country. 

The  hospital,  which  was  nearing  its  opening  day  when 
I  had  first  seen  it,  was  now  in  good  working  order  and 
quite  full  up  with  patients;  some,  alas,  suffering  from 
the  dread  sleeping  sickness. 

No  one  then  dreamed  that  the  fine  building  was  on  the 
eve  of  being  completely  destroyed  by  fire.  But  such  was 
the  case.  Within  a  very  few  months  the  scene  of  pain, 
yet  of  peace  and  comfort,  had  given  place  to  one  of 
noisy  activity,  for  on  the  old  spot  there  was  immediately 
put  in  hand  the  erection  of  the  present  solid  brick 
building  with  an  iron  roof  to  resist  the  lightning  which 
destroyed  its  predecessor,  and  a  concrete  floor  that  can 
withstand  the  constant  traffic  up  and  down  the  wards. 
After  a  few  days  we  again  set  off  on  the  march,  making 
for  Bunyoro,  in  a  northerly  direction.  A  good  road  had 
been  cut  for  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  by  order  of  the 
Government  for  transport  purposes  toward  the  Nile.  On 
the  second  day  we  overtook  an  oxen  wagon  caravan, 
which  was  being  conducted  by  a  young  Englishman,  who 
we  found  was  down  with  bad  fever  and  cough.  We  sent 
him  milk  and  meat  juice,  but  could  not  dissuade  him  from 
pushing  on  in  the  evening.  The  scarcity  of  food  for  porters 
on  the  road  makes  delays  very  difficult,  and  in  his  case, 
travelling  by  night  was  essential  as  the  oxen  cannot  bear 
the  heat  of  the  day.  But  being  jostled  along  on  spring- 
less  carts  in  the  damp  and  cold  African  nights  did  not 
suggest  much  comfort  for  a  patient  suffering  from  malaria! 

145  L 


i  '-•■-'I 


!"'"''!« 


r- 1' 


1  y^JS" 


i 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Next  day  on  arriving  in  camp  we  found  no  less  than 
:hree  other  European  caravans  settling  in.  A  military 
captain  and  a  ship  captain  w^ere  coming  down  from 
Bunyoro,  and  a  trader  was  making  for  that  direction. 

Uganda  is  getting  overrun  with  civilization !  There  is 
generally  a  little  consternation  and  hurried  confusion 
when  an  English  woman  is  seen  in  camp.  There  is  at  once 
a  shout  for  the  "boy"  who  had  relieved  the  pedestrian 
of  his  coat  on  the  march,  and  a  long  search  is  made  for 
the  razor  that  very  apparently  had  been  some  days  in 
disuse.  One  of  our  fellow  travellers  who  came  in  at 
afternoon  tea  suggested  that  a  new  regulation  should  be 
passed  by  the  Government,  ordering  all  laaies  travelhng 
on  the  road  to  send  a  white  flag  three  miles  ahead  to 
warn  fellow  countrymen  ! 

We  did  some  fairly  long  marches  on  this  road,  as  we 
were  anxious  to  complete  our  tour,  and  although  fifteen 
to  eighteen  miles  do  not  look  anything  to  the  Londoner 
who  is  accustomed  to  record  spins  on  his  bicycle,  yet  I 
think  he  would  find  five  hours  walking  day  after  day  a 
laborious  task,  especially  when  it  means  rising  at  4.0  a.m. 
We  had  been  a  little  unfortunate  in  our  culinary  arrange- 
ments, for  our  cook  was  taken  ill  and  had  been  obliged 
to  return  to  Toro.  We  t<  ok  on  a  substitute  from  our 
porters'  ranks,  who  knew  nothing  about  cooking.  I  care- 
fully taught  him  how  to  turn  out  a  decent  pancake  which 
he  seemed  really  to  master,  but  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
served  up  hard,  solid,  flour-and-water  dough-balls,  saying 
he  feared  he  had  forgotten  the  recipe,  so  the  process  of 
teachmg  had  to  be  gone  through  over  again.  He  never 
would  believe  that  anything  could  be  cooked  without 
water— roast  goat  he  cooked  in  quantities  of  it  instead  of 
fat,  and  buttered  eggs  were  swimming  in  brown  swamp 
water !  Then  all  our  other  boys  got  down  with  fever, 
and  one  day  we  were  without  a  single  attendant. 

When  we  were  half-way  to  Bunyoro,  a  Nubian  caravan 

146 


Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

encamped  close  to  us.  We  instantly  ordered  a  close 
watch  to  be  kept  on  our  goods,  as  these  folk  have 
the  reputation  of  being  not  too  strictly  honest.  In  spite, 
however,  of  vigilant  guard,  very  soon  things  were 
missing.  We  succeeded  in  rescuing  some  articles  from 
one  of  their  temporary  huts,  but  a  large  plate,  which  con- 
verted an  open  cooking  pot  into  an  African  oven,  was 
ncer  found,  and  so  we  were  deprived  of  bread  and  all 
baked  food  for  the  remainder  of  our  journey. 

The  country  was  a  monotony  of  undulating  land,  with 
no  hills,  forests,  or  rivers  to  interrupt  the  continuity  of 
sameness.  For  three  days  we  were  travelling  through  a 
district  of  Uganda  called  Singo,  where  eight  years  ago 
Mr.  Fisher  was  stationed.  A  particularly  dreary  spot 
was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  place  where  he  lived 
for  months  quite  alone,  and  had  one  attack  after  another 
of  fever.  During  one  of  those  occasions,  a  woman,  the 
wife  of  the  district  chief,  came  a  long  distance  twice  a  day 
to  nurse  him,  and,  when  he  lapsed  into  unconsciousness, 
she  took  a  razor  and  shaved  his  head  to  ease  him.  He 
was  rather  a  shock  to  himself  when  he  was  well  »nough 
to  see  his  own  reflection  in  the  lid  of  a  Huntley  & 
Palmer's  biscuit  tin— the  only  looking-glass  then  in  his 
possession,  as  he  had  lost  most  of  his  things  through  a 
recent  act  of  incendiarism. 

We  were  delighted  to  catch  sight  of  the  hills  that 
lie  round  Hoima,  the  capital  of  Bunyoro,  on  the  seventh 
day.  Mr.  Lloyd,  who  had  been  Mr.  Fisher's  fellow- 
worker  in  Toro,  and  chaperon  to  the  party  from  England 
of  which  I  had  formed  part,  came  scorching  down  on  his 
bicycle  to  meet  us,  with  a  large  following  of  natives  who 
had  come  to  greet  "their  father."  In  the  year  1695  Mr. 
Fisher  had  visited  these  people,  who,  up  to  that  time,  had 
never  heard  of  Christianity,  and  in  1898  was  located  at 
Hoima  in  order  to  establish  a  European  Station.  Then 
the  country  was  in  the  grasp  of  famine  ;  the  people,  from 

147 


'''"*-,>i 


Ml! 


!H'  ^  ^. 


'XV.  •  a 


%■ 


,i; 
■ii 


On^the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

the  King  down  to  his  peasant  subjects,  came  each  day  to 
the  European  teacher  and  his  two  Baganda  assistants 
begging  food.  Through  the  generosity  of  friends  in 
England  and  Uganda,  a  fund  was  organized,  and  with 
presents  in  kind  from  the  Christians  in  Uganda  and  Tore, 
hundreds  of  the  Banyorj  were  saved  from  starvation. 
With  the  return  of  the  rain.,  the  famine  terminated,  but 
this  time  of  trouble  had  created  and  cemented  a  con- 
fidence between  the  natives  and  missionary,  who  learned 
to  know  them  then  better  than  if  he  had  lived  years  in 
the  country  at  the  time  of  its  prosperity.  The  King,  his 
brothers,  sister,  and  ^verai  of  the  leading  chiefs,  became 
sincere  inquirers  after  Christianity,  and  ultimately 
acknowledged  their  faith  in  public  baptism. 

The  kingdoms  of  Bunyoro  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
now  existing  in  inland  Africa.     Formerly  it  was  the  pre- 
eminent power  of  all   the  districts  round  and  including 
Uganda,  but  for  many  years  its  strength  has  been  on  the 
wane  through  internal  disaffections  and  external  warfare. 
Toro,  which  was  once  ruled   over  by  Bunyoro,   broke 
away  from  its  rule,  and  the  Baganda  gradually  ascended 
north,   appropriating    to   themselves    large   districts   of 
Southern  Bunyoro.    Kabarega,  then  King  of  Bunyoro.  was 
for  years  the  terror  of  the  surrounding  weaker  tribes.   He 
was  quite  a  remarkable  character.     Realizing  the  gradual 
decadence  of  his  kingdom,   with  persistent  effort  and 
despotism  he  rallied  his  people  together  for  one  mighty 
struggle  to  regain  their  lost  power.     Marching  on  the 
surrounding  weaker  tribes,    he   raided,  plundered,   and 
burnt  their  villages,  and  King  Kasagama  (of  Toro)  and  his 
people  fled  to  the  mountains  for  shelter.     But  in  1899 
the  British  Government  sent  up  a  force  of  Baganda  under 
Colonel    Evett,     who    succeeded    in     taking    prisoner 
Kabarega.     The  latter  has  since  remained  a  prisoner  in 
the  Seychelles  Islands.      His  son  Andereya,  an  earnest 
Christian  and  an  able  man,  is  now  reigning  in  his  ste^.d. 

148 


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.  1 

V, 

y 

I 

Through  the  Four  Kingdoms 

The  Banyoro  have  always  had  a  most  elaborate  priest- 
hood and  abundant  ritual  connected  with  their  belief; 
hence  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  heathen  customs  and 
degrading  forms  of  superstition  will  be  effectually  up- 
rooted. 

After  the  discomforts  of  the  road  it  was  delightfully 
restful  to  revel  in  the  refreshing  luxury  of  easy  chairs, 
sipping  cups  of  tea,  surrounded  with  a  hundred  and  one 
reminders  of  dear  old  England,  while  a  pink-cheeked, 
chubby  baby  grabbed  at  the  flat  nose  of  his  black  boy 
nurse  and  cooed  with  satisfaction  at  having  two,  new, 
civilized  admirers.  A  week  spent  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lloyd,  during  which  time  we  were  enabled  to  visit  the 
people  and  hold  some  meetings  with  them,  brought  us  to 
the  final  stage  of  our  circular  trip — a  seven  days*  march 
home.  The  anticipation  of  once  more  seeing  Ruwenzori, 
our  mud  bungalow  house,  and  all  the  Batoro  folk,  made 
one  forget  to  write  notes  and  comments  of  those  few 
days.  But  no  written  records  were  necessary  to  keep  at 
least  one  day  green  in  the  memory.  The  wet  season  had 
begsm  in  real  earnest,  which  did  not  improve  the  many 
unbridged  swamps  that  lay  across  our  path  at  constant 
One  day  we  were  plunging  through  grass, 
ve  feet  high,  for  nearly  three  hours  right  off. 
£,.  ^ifij  from  that,  we  had  to  pass  through  a  succession 
C'f  i^ine  swamps.  The  only  possible  means  of  getting 
across  was  to  sit  on  the  shoulder  of  a  thorougly  sturdy 
and  sure-footed  porter,  holding  on  with  all  one's  might  to 
his  woolly  head.  At  the  ninth  swamp  I  had  maintained 
that  position  for  ten  minutes,  with  feet  held  straight  out 
in  front,  as  my  noble  carrier  stumbled  among  a  broken 
down  bridge,  sometimes  to  his  armpits  in  black  mud. 
Actually  weeping  tears,  I  called  down  to  my  steed,  "  My 
friend,  you  must  put  me  down,  my  back  is  broken  with 
weariness."  Without  a  word  he  floundered  off  through 
the  grass,  having  spied  a  fallen  tree  trunk  ou  which  to 

149 


m 


'    '■4i\ 


f    I 


^1'  I  i' 

n '  If 


rl 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

put  down  his  burden.  There  we  stood  panting,  too  tired 
to  speak,  but  a  hallooing  and  a  shout* ng  at  one  side 
made  us  both  turn  round.  There  we  saw  the  other 
European  in  a  most  indescribably  mixed-up  position, 
being  brought  along  on  the  shoulders  of  two  men,  while 
two  more  hung  on  to  a  leg  each.  With  scarcely  a  note 
of  warning,  the  front  man  lost  his  foothold  and 
disappeared  with  the  second.  The  European  immediately 
followed  suit,  but  the  remaining  two  stood  their  ground, 
still  holding  on  to  those  legs. 

Never  did  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon  appear  more 
fascinating  than  when  we  returned  to  our  home  under 
their  shadow  after  nine  weeks'  absence.  The  first  to 
welcome  us,  four  miles  out  on  the  road,  was  old  Apolo 
Kivebulaya,  the  native  di  icon.  Close  by  on  his  heels 
followed  my  little  god-son,  the  first  baptised  pigmy,  who 
looked  characteristically  grimy,  but  his  ugly  Pttle  face 
appeared  really  pleasing  as  he  ran  up  and  welcomed  his 
master  and  mistress  back  with  a  grin  that  seemed  to 
stretch  from  one  ear  to  another.  Then  the  Katikiro 
came  out  with  thirty  to  forty  retainers,  all  of  whom  he  had 
dressed  up  in  brand  new  white  linen  turban  caps  as  a 
token  of  welcome  to  us.  Last  of  all  rode  out  the  King. 
"  Well  done,  my  friends.  God  be  praised  for  bringing 
you  back."  And  we  could  only  in  our  hearts  respond 
"Amen." 


150 


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It  ; 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Tramp  IV.     Towards  the  Pigmies 

WHILE  the  Kingdom  ofTorohas  distinctly  defined 
boundari  on  the  East,  North,  and  South  (the 
latter  two  being  the  Albert  and  Albert  Edward 
Nyanzas)  there  are  no  lines  of  demarcation  that  bound  it 
on  the  West.  It  adjoins  the  Protectorate  to  the  Belgian 
territory  that  extends  across  from  the  Congo  Free  State, 
and  until  that  boundary  is  officially  fixed  the  Kingdom  of 
Toro  may  be  said  to  include  a  number  of  untamed  savage 
tribes  with  a  portion  of  the  pigmies,  who  recognise  no 
authority  and  rule  outside  themselves. 

Immediately  the  Toro  Mission  was  established  its 
first  branch  station  was  planted  about  sixty  miles  west  in 
Mboga,  the  district  that  touches  Stanley's  Great  Forest 
—the  home  of  the  pigmies.  Although  the  chief  offered 
much  opposition  to  the  Baganda  missionaries,  y  the 
workers  persistently  held  on,  realising  its  imp  ant 
strategic  position  for  reaching  the  many  tri^^s  rou.u  its 
borders,  and  it  formed  one  of  the  few  last  'ii)kF  yet  to  be 
forged  in  order  that  Krapfs  dreav  if  a  cha.  .  ff  missions 
extending  across  Africa  might  be  ""l filled.  .Jter  oppo- 
sition had  burnt  itself  out  and  the  Chief  Tabalo  had  him- 
self become  a  Christian  the  work  prospered  vigorously, 
and  in  1903  the  number  of  men  and  women  baptised 
reached  over  two  hundred. 

In  that  year  the  question  of  boundary  line  between 
Belgian  and  British  territory  was  again  raised  to  be 
finally  marked  out.  The  decision  would  either  result  in 
the  district  of  Mboga  being  retained  by  the  British,  or 
given  over  to  the  Belgians  in  exchange  for  a  strip  of  land 

161 


II 


III! 


m 


if    ( 


if**'* 


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i  »"•■"«£ 


i 


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'    !ll 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

farther  south,  in  which  latter  case  the   River  Semliki 
would  form  the  natural  dividing  line. 

It  was  considered  expedient,  pending  the  arrangement 
between  the  two  Governments  to  strengthen  in  every 
way  possible  the  mission  work  at  Mboga  so  that  it  might 
not  be  shaken  should  it  ultimately  lie  outside  the  Uganda 
Protectorate. 

It  was,  therefore  arranged  that  in  the  five  months 
remaining  before  leaving  for  furlough  in  England  we 
should  fit  in  a  visit  to  that  district.  The  time  of  year 
fixed  on  for  starting  was  a  little  unfortunate,  as  the  wet 
seaso"  was  in  full  working  order,  and  that  never  adds  an 
enviable  charm  to  the  gipsy  life  of  African  travelling. 
It  was  evident  that  we  were  getting  near  the  end  of  the 
prescribed  period  of  service,  for  instead  of  gaily  trudging 
off  in  stout  boots  and  puttees,  we  pushed  off  from  Kabarole 
with  a  donkey  and  a  hammock,  the  only  available  modes 
of  conveyance. 

When  only  three  miles  out  we  were  overtaken  by  one 
of  Toro's  special  storms.  The  heavily  laden  clouds  had 
been  running  off  towards  the  west  when  Ruwenzori  stood 
in  their  way  and  forbade  them.  So,  in  a  terrible  temper, 
they  turned  back  and  gave  us  the  full  benefit  of  their 
tears.  My  hammock  bearers  did  not  seem  to  mind ;  cer- 
tainly they  had  nothing  on  that  would  spoil,  and  I  believe 
these  casual  drenchings  are  the  only  occasions  on  which 
many  of  them  feel  the  touch  of  water  on  their  bodies.  I 
have  often  seen  them  trying  to  avoid  even  this  by  taking 
shelter  under  a  tree  and  holding  a  huge  banana  leaf  over 
their  head,  when  only  clothed  in  a  tiny  goat  skin.  The 
donkey  slipped  along  behind  with  its  rider  enveloped  in  a 
commodious  mackintosh  that  left  only  the  donkey's  nose 
and  feet  visible.  In  order  to  get  to  the  mission  station 
of  Busaiga,  where  we  were  to  spend  a  day,  we  had  to 
turn  off  for  two  miles  along  a  sloppy  kind  of  sheep-track 
path,  which  the  donkey  managed  better  than  my  men, 

152 


t 


Towards  the  Pigmies 

who  stumbled  along  in  the  mud,  very  fearful  lest  they 
should  let  their  burden  down.  The  man  carrying  our 
bath  went  before  to  warn  them  of  danger ;  but  we  passed 
him  halt-way,  for  with  a  splash  he  fell.  No  one  seemed 
to  regard  it  as  anything  unusual,  and  continued  marching 
on.  Looking  over  the  side  of  my  hammock,  the  last  I 
saw  of  him  was  a  hopeless  mix-up  of  black  man's  limbs 
and  bath  sitting  in  inches  of  mud. 

It  was  very  good  to  find  a  big  fire  burning  and  a  hot 
cup  of  tea  ready  in  a  well  swept  native  house  that  had 
been  prepared  for  us,  and  designated  for  our  temporary  use. 
In  the  afternoon  our  tent  was  Vvell  surrounded  by  broad 
grins  and  inquisitive  eyes  as  we  were  "at  home"  to 
callers.  They  continued  coming  in  from  1.30  to  5.30,  by 
which  time  the  air  felt  heavy,  so  we  escaped  for  an 
evening  look-out.  The  complete  range  of  mountains 
was  clearly  defined  from  south  to  north  and  terminated 
close  to  us,  in  the  Semliki  plain.  Towards  their  northern 
base  rested  a  heavy  dense  bank  of  white  cloud  that  slowly 
glided  along.  When  it  had  reached  the  farthest  shoulder 
of  the  range,  it  woke  from  its  soliloquy  and  with  a  mighty 
effort  plunged  upwards,  and  in  a  few  minutes  flooded  the 
whole  country  with  a  dense,  damp  mist. 

The  first  of  May  dawned  in  all  the  brightness  of  its 
reputation.  Lake,  plain,  valleys,  and  mountains  appeared 
in  their  brightest  garments  to  do  honour  to  the  day,  and 
the  air  trembled  in  its  endeavour  to  laud  the  Creator.  No 
wonder  that  the  people  swarmed  out  of  their  stuffy  little 
huts  for  morning  service.  It  was  then  pointed  out  to 
them  that  their  house  of  prayer  needed  rethatching,  and 
in  less  than  three  hours  the  "  restoration  of  the  church  " 
was  completed,  for  streams  of  tiny  naked  figures  went  off 
and  returned  with  a  few  strands  of  grass  balanced  on 
their  heads ;  the  women  followed  with  heavier  burdens, 
and  the  men  were  standing  ready  to  tie  it  into  small 
bundles  and  stuff  them  into  the  thatch.    There  was  here 

153 


II  I  H 


m  1 


■li!ll. 


W\i 


I"':,      I   1 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

as  everywhere  a  great  demand  for  "  reading  sheets,"  and 
those  who  did  not  possess  five  comie  shells  (half  a 
farthing)  wherewith  to  purchase  one  brought  in  a  bundle 
of  firewood,  two  eggs,  or  undertook  any  little  job  in  order 
to  earn  the  sum.  In  the  afternoon  we  had  meetings  for 
men  and  women.  At  each  gathering  over  one  hundred 
were  present,  which  must  have  included  nearly  all  the 
adult  inhabitants  of  the  place.  The  audiences  one  meets 
with  in  the  villages  are  distinctly  responsive;  they 
evidently  have  an  idea  that  it  is  a  slight  to  leave  the 
European  to  do  all  the  talking.  In  the  middle  of  your 
"  sermon  "  one  native  will  burst  out  with  "  Aye,  aye,  that's 
so,"  and  the  whole  company  will  agree  in  chorus.  Then, 
again,  they  will  repeat  after  you  a  whole  sentence  that  has 
struck  them,  and  when  your  oration  is  over  they  all 
exclaim  "  That's  very  good ;  well  done,  very  well  done." 
It  is  most  encouraging  to  a  nervous  speaker. 

Leaving  Busaiga,  we  descended  to  a  wide  plateau, 
which  was  most  likely  at  one  time  a  lake  bed,  but  the 
water  has  run  off  and  left  it  quite  dry.  The  curious 
parallel  gorges,  where  villages  now  nestle,  resemble 
immense  yawning  cracks  formed  by  the  land  calling  out 
for  water.  In  one  of  these  clefts,  where  there  was  a 
sleepy  little  hamlet,  we  pitched  camp.  The  old  chief  of 
the  place  was  sitting  in  his  courtyard  contentedly  smoking 
a  huge  pipe.  He  did  not  take  the  least  notice  of  our 
arrival,  and,  from  what  he  said,  if  we  had  been  a  party 
of  plunderers,  he  would  have  assumed  exactly  the  same 
immovable  attitude.  It  was  a  very  stuffy  place;  the 
heat  seemed  to  fall  down  listlessly  in  the  little  valley  and 
had  no  strength  to  move  off  at  night.  As  for  the  varieties 
of  insects  that  visited  us  as  the  candles  were  lit,  even  the 
most  initiated  naturalist  must  have  been  puzzled  at 
classifying  them. 

On  the  following  day  we  were  up  at  daybreak  to  cheat 
the  sun,  which  we  expected  would  do  its  worst  for  us  in 

154 


uid 
f  a 
idle 
der 
for 
red 
the 
sets 
!iey 
the 
our 
It's 
en, 
bas 
aU 
e." 

au, 
the 

3US 

ble 
rat 
3  a 

of 
ing 
)ur 
rty 
tne 
:he 
,nd 
ies 
:he 

at 

eat 
in 


u 
> 


< 


a 
I 


;i:  *i: 


Towards  the  Pigmies 

the  exposed  Scmliki  plain.  When  we  reached  that  level, 
although  it  was  only  8.0  a.m.,  the  heat  was  almost  un- 
bearable. The  little  donkey  must  have  ftlt  it  rather 
badly,  for  it  upset  itself  in  the  mud,  and  this  twisteJ  into 
weird  contortions  the  invaluable  umbrella  that  was  being 
carried  on  its  back.  The  Semliki  River  has  to  be  crossed 
halfway  across  the  plam  ;  its  waters  are  of  a  thick  grey 
colouring,  and  in  them  are  smuggled  away  crocodiles,  all 
sorts  of  fierce  fish  with  tusk-like  teeth,  and  fever  germs. 
A  big  dug-out  canoe  came  over  from  the  opposite  bank  to 
ferry  us  across,  and  then  returned  to  fetch  our  porters, 
ass,  and  cows.  The  animals  took  most  naturally  to  the 
skiff— which  might  perhaps  be  traced  back  to  their 
ancestors  of  the  Ark  period. 

In  the  cool  of  the  afternoon  an  old  fisherman  punted 
me  out  in  his  canoe.  He  attracted  my  attention  to  a  big 
crocodile  drawn  up  on  the  bank — it  suddenly  woke  from  its 
sleep  and  slipped  into  the  water  for  an  evening  ablution. 
These  dug-outs  are  scarcely  what  you  might  call  inviting. 
I  have  never  seen  one  that  does  not  leak  considerably,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  imagine  yourself  comfortable  when  seated 
on  a  few  rushes  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  feeling  all  .he 
time  the  water  oozing  in  under  you. 

Antelopes  simply  abound  in  the  plain.  In  onr  spot 
alone  there  must  have  stood  forty  of  these  peaceful 
creatureF.  They  evidently  understand  that  all  their 
district  is  preserved  against  the  sportsman,  for  ll.  2y  now 
venture  quite  close  to  the  path  and  look  at  passers  by 
with  the  greatest  impertinence.  Two  fine  creatures  with 
handsome  antlers  stood  defying  our  caravan  only  about 
fifty  yards  away,  and  simply  refused  to  be  frightened  off. 

Mboga  stands  on  a  ridge  of  hills  about  18  miles  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  plain  to  Ruwenzori.  The  scenery 
was  in  charming  contrast  to  that  on  tha  previous  day's 
journey  as  we  lifted  up  on  to  high  land.  Forest  arteries 
flowed  through  every  bend  and  hollow  from  the  great 

155 


:lll 


1 


li      I 


hi    t 


IH  -I! 

'il.  '  M 


*  I  I 


■4^1 1  i    \ 


■M.] 

.    i;r 

'        Li 

■1  ^ 

1 

i  1 

On  the  Bcrders  of  Pigmy  Land 

aorta  of  Stanley's  Pigmy  Forest  that  stretched  away  for 
miles  behind  the  Mboga  Hills.  The  treei?  closely 
resembled  the  English  oak  and  mountain  ash  ;  there  >.as 
a  marked  scarcity  of  flowers,  and  my  butterfly  net 
remained  quite  limp  as  we  climbed  up  for  three  hours 
till  the  Mission  station  appeared  in  sight.  The  people 
that  came  out  to  meet  us  broke  up  into  two  parts ;  the 
one  went  with  Mr.  Fisher  to  superintend  camping  opera- 
tions, and  I  was  borne  off  by  the  others  to  the  Chiefs 
reception  hall  to  hold  audience  with  his  mother,  who  had 
ready  a  big  black  native  pot  of  smoked  milk  to  offer  me. 
Over  one  hundred  women  then  streamed  in  to  look  at  the 
first  European  lady  who  had  visited  their  country.  They 
exclaimed,  "  Bwana  Fisher  has  much  grace  and  love,  for 
he  was  the  first  white  man  to  come  and  tell  us  of  the 
religion  of  Christ,  and  now  he  has  brought  to  us  the  first 
lady."  A  large  open  shed  had  been  erected  by  the  Chief 
Paulo  Tabalo,  under  which  our  tent  could  be  erected  and 
so  sheltered  from  the  burning  heat  of  the  day,  and  it  also 
provided  us  with  a  large  airy  sitting  room,  waich  was 
necessary  for  the  four  weeks  we  intended  to  remain. 

The  first  thing  that  was  absolutely  essential  to  take  in 
hand  was  the  building  of  a  new  Church,  for  the  reed 
one  standing  was  totally  inadequate  to  accommodate 
the  people.  Consequently  each  morning  after  a  brief 
service  the  men  and  women  poured  across  to  the  new 
site  to  jtart  operations.  The  men,  headed  by  their  Chief, 
went  off  into  the  forests  for  poles,  and  the  women,  laying 
aside  their  white  linen  draperies,  handled  their  hoes,  and 
in  a  few  days  had  completely  cleared  the  plot  of  all  the 
long  grass  with  which  it  had  been  covered.  It  was  quite 
astonishing  to  see  the  rapidity  with  which  everybody 
went  to  work,  and  although  the  proposed  large  mud 
church  looked  rather  a  formidable  undertaking,  the 
C  hristians  insisted  on  building  a  permanent  mud  house 
adjoining  the  Church,  which  they  hoped  would  secure 

166 


Towards  the  Pigmies 

more  frequent  visits  from  the  Missionary,  or  procure  them 
an  ordained  teacher  from  Uganda. 

The  late  Sir  Henry  Stanley,  in  "  Darkest  Africa,"  has 
given  a  most  vivid  picture  of  Mboga  in  his  time.  It  was 
there  he  met  with  so  much  trouble  and  savage  opposition 
from  the  natives.  Paulo  Tabalo  tells  a  thrilling  story  of 
how  his  father  collected  together  a  large  army  to  oppose 
the  great  white  man  on  the  banks  of  the  Semliki  River,  but 
was  compelled  to  flee,  leaving  behind  a  number  of  slain. 

Oppression  has  given  place  to  justice,  turbulence  to 
peace,  and  the  most  abject  fear  of  and  subordination  to 
the  Evil  Spirit  is  gracually  being  overcome  by  knowledge 
and  trust  in  God. 

Stepping  out  from  our  tent  one  evening,  I  strolled  away 
to  a  near  hill  to  watch  the  sun  set.  As  it  slowly  disap- 
peared behind  a  low  ridge  of  distant  mountains  it 
scattered  trails  of  golden  light  across  the  plain,  through 
which  the  white  waters  gleamed.  Then  for  a  few  brief 
minutes  tiie  vast  Ruwenzori  Range  appeared  completely 
vestured  in  a  deep  pink  transparent  misi,  above  which 
shone  as  a  coronet  the  pure  white  snows.  I-^ever  again 
in  the  four  weeks  we  spent  there  was  such  a  wonderful 
effect  repeated. 

The  hushed  stillness  was  suddenly  broken  by  a  voice 
that  issued  from  a  little  hut  almost  hidden  from  view. 
Glancing  round  a  tall  rock  that  stood  between,  I  saw  a 
dusky  figure  sitting  in  the  doorway  peeling  potatoes  for  the 
evening  meal.  She  was  quite  unconscious  of  any  intruder, 
and  as  she  bent  down  over  her  work  she  sang  in  the  native 
tongue  "  Like  a  river  glorious  is  God's  perfect  peace." 

Mboga  of  the  present  is  a  "  Cave  of  Adullam  "  to  the 
numerous  surrounding  tribes  who  have  fled  from  the 
hands  of  plunderers  and  raiders  and  come  to  settle  down 
under  the  peaceful  rule  of  the  Christian  Chief. 

Among  the  thirty-six  men  and  women  who  had  been 
instructed  and  were  then  presented  for  baptist    there 

157 


1    i 


m 


IM 


• 

! 

' 

^  '1    ::; 

1 

■ .' 

1    '; 

ri 


;i 


..i 


■  n 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

were  representatives  of  five  different  tribes,  three  of  whom 
were  the  first-fruits  from  those  tribes.  I  held  a  daily 
class  with  them  for  three  weeks,  and  so  had  a  chance  of 
comparing  the  brain  power  of  these  people.  Certainly 
the  one  pigmy  did  not  by  any  means  stand  last  in  the 
class;  on  the  other  hand,  he  displayed  a  very  keen 
perception  and  often  turned  round  to  his  neighbour  and 
tried  rather  impatiently  to  rub  in  the  point.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  was  entirely  lacking  in  concentration,  and 
it  seemed  impossible  to  pin  his  mind  down  to  the  subject 
under  discussion.  Every  afternoon  the  people  stopped 
work  for  two  hours  in  order  to  go  to  Church  to  listen  to 
the  white  missionaries*  words.  On  the  first  Sunday  a 
hint  was  thrown  out  to  them  that  they  should  study 
together  in  their  homes,  and  so  help  each  other  to  under- 
stand their  Bibles  better.  The  day  following  Paulo 
called  his  people  together  in  his  audience  hall  and  told 
them  that  they  had  listened  to  very  good  words  from 
their  European  friend  and  teacher,  and  he  felt  that  if 
they  were  to  become  strong  and  be  blessed  by  God  they 
ought  to  carry  out  the  advice  given.  Several  of  them 
thereupon  started  systematic  Bible  study  in  their  homes. 
Many  of  the  Christian  women  came  to  my  afternoon 
class  with  questions  prepared  which  they  had  planned 
out  together  ;  and  they  helped  each  other  to  make  notes 
of  my  answers.  I  was  surprised  at  the  intelligence 
shown  in  their  questionings,  for  they  had  received 
practically  little  teaching  and  are  not  naturally  sharp. 
They  asked  many  things  about  the  Epistles,  when  they 
were  written,  whether  on  St.  Paul's  journeyings  or  when 
in  imprisonment ;  then  they  wanted  to  know  the  meaning 
of  "  Alpha  and  Omega  "  and  "  the  woman  clothed  with 
the  sun,"  etc.,  etc. 

One  afternoon,  just  as  the  class  was  closing,  I  looked 
up,  and  in  the  doorway  of  the  Church  stood  two  most 
repelling  figures.    Their  hair  had  grown  to  the  shoulders 

158 


Towards  the  Pigmies 


and  was  rolled  into  thin  streaks  witli  an  ample  quantity 
of  white  goat's  fat ;  they  wore  a  mere  fragment  of  clothing, 
and  held  in  their  hands  a  bow  and  sheaf  of  arrows. 
My  lesson  came  to  a  dead  standstill,  and  I  asked  the 
women  who  the  two  men  were.  "  They  eat  each  other," 
was  the  reassuring  response.  I  dismissed  the  class  right 
away  and  made  off,  but  found  the  two  cannibals  standing 
outside.  Very  bravely  I  went  up  and  saluted  them,  but 
they  only  stared  and  grunted,  then  when  I  turned  to 
hurry  hack  to  camp  they  came  too !  In  spite  of  being 
told  ttiat  they  only  eat  their  own  people,  I  did  not  like  to 
run  any  risk,  so  enticed  a  number  of  women  to  come 
with  me  all  the  way  to  our  tent  by  saying  I  had  some 
pictures  just  out  from  England  to  show  them. 

As  we  stood  there  in  Mboga  among  some  of  the  most 
primitive  of  the  human  racps  it  was  difficult  to  realize 
that  they  formed  part  of  that  greatest  existing  empire  of 
the  world.  Let  us  hope  the  time  will  soon  come  when 
these  people  will  be  brought  within  the  circle  cf  its  moral 
and  intellectual  influence  as  well  as  the  circle  of  its  civil 
rule.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  that  there  ever  existed 
a  more  unenlightened  age  in  the  history  of  man  than  the 
present  twentieth  century  among  these  distant  subjects 
of  Great  Britain.  From  the  brow  of  the  Mission  hill  at 
Mboga  no  fewer  than  seven  distinct  practically  untamed 
tribes,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  customs  and  dialect, 
lie  within  the  range  of  eyesight.  During  the  four  weeks 
spent  in  these  parts  we  had  an  opportunity  of  coming  in 
direct  contact  with  some  people  from  each  of  these  tribes, 
and  as  we  learned  something  of  their  habits  and  modes 
of  existence  we  realised  in  a  deeper  sense  than  ever  before 
the  significance  of  the  words,  "  And  darkness  was  upon 
the  face  of  the  deep." 

After  one  month's  life  under  canvas,  nomadic  life  loses 
its  charm,  especially  when  the  rains  are  a  little  too 
generous.    The  last  three  weeks  of  our  stay  in  Mboga 

159 


if 

1 


ii.  i  N 


^  i' 


*f  "    f         if 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

proved  somewhat  distressful  on  this  account,  for  the 
storms  beat  down  upon  our  skeleton  shed  and  poured  in 
through  the  tent  almost  daily.  The  wide  trenches  dug 
round  our  quarters  were  quite  ineffectual  in  carrying  off 
the  water  which  came  sweeping  in  upon  us  like  a  flood. 
Frequently  we  were  obliged  to  sit  on  our  chairs  or  boxes 
with  our  feet  tucked  under  us  while  the  water  gaily  took 
possession  of  the  ground  floor  of  the  tent. 

Then  food  was  a  difficulty,  for  no  one  would  sell  the 
few  goats  and  chickens  that  they  possessed.  After  the 
first  fortnight  they  assured  us  that  we  had  eaten  up  all 
the  chickens  in  the  place  !  (In  spite  of  this  we  certainly 
lost  weight.)  Eggs  were  very  scarce,  and  were  sold  at 
the  same  price  as  a  chicken,  for,  they  argued,  an  egg  is 
a  chicken,  and  the  ones  they  brought  for  sale  nearly 
proved  their  argument !  All  our  boys  got  ill  with  malarial 
fever,  and  when  they  were  at  their  worst  a  case  of  cholera 
was  brought  in  to  me  for  treatment.  This  seemed  to  be 
an  unknown  complaint  in  these  parts,  and  the  {>eople  had 
no  idea  of  its  infectioi's  character.  Already  three  deaths 
had  occurred,  and  two  households  were  stricken  down 
with  it  through  visiting  the  sick  house.  We  immediately 
ordered  all  the  infected  huts  to  be  quarantined  and  the 
strictest  attention  f'  en  to  the  burning  of  all  contaminated 
matter.  Fortunateiy  the  disease  was  thus  checked  from 
spreading,  but  not  until  four  had  succumbed  to  it. 

Our  last  Sunday  spent  there  was  a  memorable  occasion, 
for  thirty-nve  men  and  women  were  admitted  into  the 
fold  of  Christ  through  the  confession  of  their  faith  in 
Baptism,  and  sixty-two  from  this  little  "lighthouse" 
station  united  with  us  in  Holy  Communion.  After  the 
evei/ng  service  two  young  men  came  forward  and  offered 
themselves  to  be  trained  as  teachers  to  the  villages  beyond. 
So  although  darkness  yet  covers  the  land  of  Mboga  it 
might  be  said  "  And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters." 

160 


I 


f! 


[| 


i 


tt 


U 


I  ■  ■« 


11 


w  f  If 

III 


3*' 


:<#' 


r    ^ 


CHAPTER  XVII 

In  Darkest  Africa.  The  Pigmies 
(Batwa)  and  their  (Bambuba)  Neigh- 
bours 


IN  attempting  to  describe  some  of  the  tribes  that  we 
have  come  in  contact  with  round  Mboga,  I  feel  the 
first  place  should  be  given  to  the  Pigmies,  for 
although  they  are  the  smallest  of  all  folk,  yet  they  are 
one  of  the  most  ancient  peoples  of  history.  Not  only  do 
they  anoear  in  the  pages  of  the  Greek  historian, 
Herodoius,  but  to-day  their  representatives  may  be  traced 
on  the  Pyramids.  Beyond  these  bare  facts  of  their  exist- 
ence nothing  was  definitely  known  about  them  until  the 
late  Sir  Henry  Stanley  penetrated  their  forest  home  on 
his  search  for  Emin  Pasha,  and  startled  the  civilised 
world  by  his  marvellous  accounts  of  these  legendary 
folk.  Judging  from  their  present  conditions  of  life  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  they  have  made  any  advance, 
physically  or  morally,  during  the  hundreds  of  years  that 
have  passed  by  since  first  they  were  known  to  the  outside 
world. 

Their  home  is  one  vast,  impenetrable  forest  which 
extends  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  north  to 
south  and  nearly  two  hundred  miles  east  to  west ;  with- 
out intermission  its  vegetation  has  assumed  abnormal  pro- 
portions ;   out  of  dense,  tangled  undergrowth  the  trees 

161  ■ 


■Ill :  p. 


;i 

■i 

J. 

*■      ^    .!■ 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

have  forced  their  way,  and,  as  if  to  find  breathing  space 
and  shake  themselves  free  of  the  crush  and  their  tiresome 
parasites,  have  reached  a  gigantic  height.  But  the 
rubber  plants,  ivy,  and  creepers  have  proved  equal  to  the 
task,  and  pushed  their  way  up  the  tree  trunks,  have 
crawled  along  from  branch  to  branch,  until  only  glimpses 
of  sunshine  and  sky  appear  through  the  thick  foliage. 

Doubtless  this  obscurity  and  the  seclusion  of  their 
environment  have  acted  as  a  narcotic  on  the  develop, 
ment  of  the  people. 

Although  small  of  stature  they  are  by  no  means  dwarfs, 
for  their  little  bodies  of  four  feet  to  four  feet  eight  inches 
are  perfectly  proportioned.  A  very  close  view  shows 
them  to  be  covered  with  an  almost  imperceptible  downy 
hair ;  on  the  arms  this  meets  at  the  elbow  as  in  monkeys. 
It  may  be  due  to  their  habit  of  sitting  with  arms  crossed 
round  their  neck  while  the  rain  constantly  drips  down 
upon  them  through  the  trees.  Their  features  are  not 
prepossessing— in  fact  they  are  really  ugly ;  a  very  broad 
bridgeless  nose  and  two  wide  protruding  lips  appropriate 
as  much  space  as  the  face  can  spare. 

They  possess  no  permanent  homes,  but  are  constantly 
on  the  move,  never  spending  more  than  three  to  five  days 
at  one  spot.  They  burrow  among  the  thick  undergrowth, 
and  make  clearings  round  the  trees  in  order  to  erect 
their  tiny  grass  huts,  which  are  built  in  less  than  an  hour, 
with  saplings  stuck  round  in  a  circle  and  tied  at  the  top; 
grass  and  leaves  are  then  thrown  over  as  roofing.  Very 
few  adopt  any  clothing.  Each  man  travels  about  with  a 
bow  and  quiver  of  poisoned  arrows  in  order  that  he  may 
keep  the  family  supplied  in  food.  Although  peaceable 
among  themselves,  there  is  no  civil  cohesion  among  the 
pigmies.  They  recognise  no  king  or  chief;  each  man  is 
perfectly  free  to  control  his  own  household.  There  are  no 
class  distmctions ;  but  the  best  huntsman  will  have  the 
largest  following  because  with  his  spoils  he  is  able  to 

162 


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ut  the 
to  the 
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impses 
age. 
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Bvelop- 

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inches 
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downy 
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opriate 

stantly 
re  days 
rowth, 

erect 
1  hour, 
le  top ; 

Very 
with  a 
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tng  the 
man  is 
are  no 
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ill 

The  Pigmies  and  their  Neighbours 


effect  exchanges  with  the  near  neighbours  of  the  tribe — 
the  Bambuba,  a  sturdy,  thick-set  race  varying  in  height 
from  four  feet  eight  inches  to  five  feet,  who  live  on  the 
north-east  fringe  of  the  Forest. 

Necessity  has  never  taught  the  pigmies  to  make  fires. 
They  are  dependent  on  wood  ashes  from  the  Bambuba 
folk,  which  they  carry  about  tied  up  in  leaves,  in  which 
the  fire  smoulders  for  hours  and  is  kindled  into  flame  with 
a  little  gentle  blowing.  The  Bambuba  have  learned  to 
produce  fire  by  means  of  igniting  two  little  bits  of  stick  by 
friction.  They  also  make  tiny  torches  of  three  or  four 
thin  twigs  tied  together  by  fibre ;  these  are  dipped  into 
rubber  juice  freshly  drawn  away  from  the  plant ;  then  on 
the  point  of  the  torch  is  placed  resin,  which  moderates  the 
rate  of  combustion.  One  of  these  torches  will  keep 
burning  for  two  to  three  hours.  The  pigmies  do  not 
cultivate  the  ground ;  they  are  exclusively  a  tribe  of  hunts- 
men who  travel  about  in  search  of  their  prey.  Their 
remarkable  agility  enables  them  to  spring  from  branch  to 
branch  when  watching  the  track  of  an  animal.  Often 
they  are  obliged  to  follow  an  elephant  for  hours  before  this 
forest  monarch  succumbs  to  the  poisoned  dart  that  has 
lodged  itself  in  its  tough  skin  ;  then  as  the  huge  animal 
rolls  over  like  a  thunderbolt  falling,  the  little  pigmies 
jump  down  from  the  trees,  stand  on  the  carcase,  and 
draw  out  of  a  crude  leather  sheath  their  knives  which 
have  handles  made  of  animals'  bones ;  they  then  com- 
mence cutting  up  the  joints.  Some  of  these  will  be 
carried  off  to  the  agricultural  Bambuba  tribe,  who  give 
potatoes,  Indian  corn,  knives,  or  arrows  for  the  meat. 
The  rest  is  taken  up  into  the  trees  and  dried,  after  which 
it  is  either  roasted  or  eaten  raw.  Although  all  their  meat 
is  poisoned  they  do  not  attempt  to  purify  it,  and  the 
blood  is  regarded  as  a  special  delicacy.  They  do  not, 
however,  suffer  any  ill-t  fleets,  for  the  poison  is  said  to 
have  lost  its  power  when  once  it  has  acted.     The  pigmies 

163 


■!'  til 


'![  aa.'yga 


!       ' 


i^P      '^1' 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

are  regarded  by  the  neighbouring  tribes  in  very  much 
the  same  way  as  the  wild  pigs,  inevitable  plunderers.  At 
night  they  creep  up  to  the  potato  patches,  under  cover  of 
t'-e  long  grass,  and  carry  off  their  booty  into  the  copse. 
No  one  dares  to  venture  on  revenge ;  indeed  the  surround- 
ing tribes  stand  in  terror  of  the  little  people  because  of 
their  wonderful  powers  of  self-concealment  and  deftness 
with  their  bows. 

A  pigmy  rarely  possesses  more  than  one  wife,  and 
never  more  than  two.  A  man  purchases  her  with 
poison  or  fowls — a  woman  is  valued  at  eighty  to  one 
hundred  chickens.  The  wives  are  treated  kindly  and 
with  consideration  ;  only  when  a  husband  is  provoked  by 
abuse  does  he  attempt  to  subdue  his  fractious  helpmate 
by  a  sound  beating. 

A  pigmy  baby  is  the  funniest  little  atom  imaginable. 
A  woman  once  brought  to  me  her  infant  of  three 
months ;  it  was  her  first,  and  she  evidently  regarded  it 
as  an  exceptional  beauty.  It  was  about  the  size  of  a  six- 
penny doll.  I  did  not  venture  to  touch  it  for  fear  of 
hurting  it. 

Having  only  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  Congo  Forest 
we  never  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  pigmies  at 
home.  Those  we  have  met  and  conversed  with  are 
women  and  boys  that  were  stolen  some  years  ago,  and 
now  have  no  desire  to  go  back  to  the  forest.  At  Mboga 
we  found  seven  under  Christian  instruction,  one  of  whom 
had  been  baptised.  In  Kabarole  there  are  two  pigmy 
girls  and  one  lad  learning  to  read  besides  Blasiyo,  who 
was  the  first  of  his  tribe  to  be  baptised. 

He  was  my  first  God-child,  the  first  of  these  wee  and 
ancient  people  to  step  forth  from  their  physical  and 
spiritual  darkness  and  before  the  listening  Host  of 
Heaven  declare  his  beliet  in  God  the  Father,  Gv  d  the 
Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  his  faith  for  salvation,  for 
salvation  in  Christ's  sacrifice,  and  his  desire  to  never  be 

164 


m 


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■  i 

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«a 

J  !;j*»5J     .1..  , 


The  Pigmies  and  their  Neighbours 

ashamed  "  to  fight  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross."     He 
is  a  quaint  little  figure,   with  a  high  sense  of  his  own 
importance,  and  is  quite  able  to  stand  his  ground  alone 
when  assailed  by  his  taller  companions.     Work  is  a  great 
trouble  to  him,  but  he  is  always  ready  for  tricks  and 
games.     Football  is  his  speciality,  and  he  never  misses  a 
chance  of  squeezing  his  way  into  the  game,  even  when 
the  men's  team  is  on  the  ground.     In  order  that  he  might 
have  a  game  with  his  friends  whenever  he  could  shirk  his 
work,  he  invented  a  very  ingenious  football  of  a  goat 
skin  stuffed  with  dried  banana  leaves.    While  learning  to 
read  we  took  him  on  our  staff  of  boys,  not  that  he  did 
much  work,  but  in  order  that  we  might  try  and  instil 
clean  and  industrious  habits  into  him.      His  duties  were 
to  help  the  cook  by  feeding  the  fire  with  fuel  and  keeping 
clean  the  pots  and  pans,  but  when  he  knew  his  master 
and  mistress  were  at  lunch,  he  would  run  away  from  his 
post,  and  fetch  a  large  ivory  war-horn  ;   then,  taking  up 
his  position  outside  the  dining-room  window,  would  blow 
for  all  he  was  worth.     He  accompanied  the  blasts  with 
weird,  swaying  movements  that  gradually  developed  into 
wild  dancing,  and  transformed  the  little  figure  into  a 
veritable  imp  or  gnome.     His  idea  was  that  this  enter- 
tainment would  quite  justify  his  act  of  truancy ;  and  he 
reasoned  that  if  he  could  get  his  master  and  mistress  to 
laugh  their  anger  would  be  dead,  for  laughter  drives  out 
wrath.      When  he  came  to  us,  cleanliness  was  not    a 
strong  point  with  him,  and  he  was  for  the  time  being 
quite  debarred  from  playing  football  on  account  of  being 
crippled  with  jiggers— an    irritating,  infinitessimal  insect 
that  bores  in  under  the  surface  skin  of  the  feet,  and  if 
allowed  to  remain  there  sets  up  mortification.    The  fact 
of  their  being  there  did  not  trouble  him  in  the  least,  but 
his  inability  to  kick  the  football  drove  him  to  get  them 
extracted.    A  message  one  day  was  brought  in  that  a  man 
wished  to  see  me  en  business.     Going  out  on   to  our 

165 


f  :■! 


B  - 

n 

j^M:  [ 

^ 

W*  ' 

( 

f  ^  ■■;  ^ 

J-    1  ^- 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

verandah  I  found  a  powerful,  muscular  figure  dressed  in 
a  colobus  monkey  skin.  He  told  me  that  his  name  was 
Mbeba,  which  means  "  a  rat,"  and  that  he  had  been  sent 
by  the  pigmy  to  contract  for  his  jiggers.  His  fee  would 
be  five  hundred  cowrie  shells,  which  was  a  big  price,  but 
it  would  be  a  long  job.  I  felt  it  was  an  offer  to  close 
on,  and  did  not  in  the  least  regret  my  investment  of 
sevenpence  halfpenny  when  the  pigmy  proudly  emerged 
from  a  ten  days'  operation  with  his  unshapely  little  feet 
considerably  battered,  but  in  sound  kicking  order. 

Each  week  it  was  our  custom  to  give  round  to  our 
Iwys  fifty  or  hundred  cowrie  shells  for  pocket  money. 
These  generally  went  to  purchase  pencils,  or  exercise 
books,  or  were  carefully  put  by  till  sufficient  were  collected 
to  buy  a  sheep  or  goat.  But  Blasiyo  was  never  able  to 
save  a  shell,  for  his  great  ambition  was  to  ride  about  on 
a  horse  like  the  king,  and  as  this  was  an  impossibility 
he  hired  the  tallest  available  man  to  run  him  up  and 
down  the  roads  on  his  shoulder  for  payment  of  shells. 

One  day  aloud  altercation  was  going  on  in  our  court- 
yard, and  I  was  called  out  to  arbitrate  between  Blasiyo 
and  his  two-legged  steed.  The  man's  grievance  was  that  he 
had  agreed  to  ride  the  pigmy  round  our  courtyard  for  fivi 
shells,  and  now  he  was  refused  payment.  Blasiyo  listened 
until  he  had  finished  presenting  his  case ;  then,  when 
called  on  to  give  his  defence,  declared  the  man  had  not 
fulfilled  his  contract,  for  he  had  cut  off  all  the  corners. 
He  was  told  to  pay  down  three  shells,  and  these  he  pro- 
duced from  under  his  tongue !  When  he  had  learned  to 
read,  he  was  very  anxious  to  exhibit  his  wonderfiil 
intelligence,  and  asked  that  he  might  have  a  class  in  the 
reading  school.  Accordingly  he  was  enrolled  as  a 
teacher.  With  an  air  of  great  importance  he  used  to 
strut  into  school  and  take  up  his  position  among  his 
scholars,  some  twelve  to  twenty  men,  whom  he  had 
asked  tu  be  allowed  to  teach  in  preference  to  boys.     One 

166 


11 

1 

1: 
1 

';       '        ■ 

!'•'; 

li: 


••C 


f    * 

o 


l.f-.*. 


-ii 


■Iff 


The  Pigfmies  and  their  Neighbours 


ii 


day  while  going  the  round  of  the  school  to  take  the 
register  I  found  Blasiyo's  class  in  rebellion.  The  reason 
was  that  the  teacher  had  brought  with  him  a  little  cane 
and  whacked  them  all  round  because  they  did  not  pay 
him  due  respect.  "  Without  respect,"  said  he,  "  progress 
is  impossible." 

For  several  obvious  reasons  it  will  be  impossible  to 
send  teachers  to  the  pigmies  under  present  circumstances. 
While  they  continue  constantly  moving  about  they  can- 
not be  satisfactorily  reached  ;  and  no  European  or  native 
of  another  tribe  could  live  in  the  semi-obscurity  of  the 
dense  forest,  or  exist  solely  on  poisoned  meat.  The  only 
hope  of  effectually  reaching  them  is  to  teach  and  train 
those  who  are  living  outside  among  other  people ;  for 
there  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  some  from  among  them 
might  be  found  who  will  in  the  future  be  ready  to  go  back 
to  their  old  forest  home  and  carry  the  torchlight  of 
Truth  to  their  own  kith  and  kin. 

Meanwhile  it  is  a  cause  of  great  rejoicing  that  already 
some  of  these  strange  tiny  iolk  have  been  baptised  into 
Christ  Jesus,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  was  named. 

The  Bahuku. 

In  a  strip  of  forest  lying  between  the  Semliki  River 
and  the  Congo  Forest,  and  within  four  hours  of  Mboga, 
lives  a  savage  tribe  known  as  the  Bahuku.  Among  all 
the  distinct  races  to  be  found  on  the  western  slopes  of 
the  Semliki  Plain,  these  people  undoubtedly  are  the 
most  degraded  and  void  of  intelligence.  Like  the 
Ba-amba,  many  of  the  men  allow  their  heads  to  remain 
unshorn  :  when  the  hair  has  reached  to  the  nape  of  the 
neck  they  twist  it  into  thin  strands  with  goat's  fat,  which 
is  frequently  mixed  with  a  quantity  of  red  earth.  This 
gives  them  quite  a  terrifying  appearance.  They  live  in 
circular  huts    composed  of  closely-packed   poles,    with 

167 


"i     1^ 


'Li 


i 


!n- 


i  f 


ir*^  -  IS     I      I* 
f,       •■ 

\ 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

roofs  of  grass  and  leaves.  They  have  no  means  of  digging 
up  the  soil,  but  their  method  of  cultivating  is  to  cut  down 
the  grass  and  shrubs,  to  fell  the  trees,  and  sow  their 
crops  of  Indian  corn,  beans  and  sweet  potatoes  among 
the  stubble  and  roots. 

A   Muhuku  may  have  any   number  of  wives,  but  is 
obliged  to  build  a  separate  house  for  each,  as  the  women 
are    very    quarrelsome    among     themselves.       If    any 
favouritism  is  shown  for  one  wife  the   others  make  on 
attempt  to  conceal  their  jealousy,  and  sometimes  poison 
or  spear  the  unfortunate  woman.     The  custom  of  pro- 
curing a  wife  is  to  take  her  in  exchange  for  a  sister,  cousin, 
or  any  other  available  female  relation.     When  these  fail, 
goats   will  be  taken   as  a  substitute.      By   the    former 
method  a  woman  is  free  to  leave  her  husband  and  marry 
another  if  she  wishes,  but  purchase  by  goats  is  binding  on 
her;  she  has  become  her  husband's  property  absolutely. 
Should  she  run  away  and  return  to  her  people  they  are 
immediately  suspected  of  bribing  or  stealing  her.    The 
injured  husband  then  sounds  the  warhorn,  and  a  sharp 
encounter  with  spears  and  knives  takes  place  between  the 
two  families.    When  the  victor  has  succeeded  in  driving 
off  his  antagonists  he  claims   the   bodies  of  the  slain, 
which  are  taken  to  his  home  and  feasted  upon  in  honour 
of  the  occasion. 

The  warhorns  of  the  Bahuku  are  regarded  by  them 
as  family  heirlooms,  and  have  been  handed  down  from 
their  distant  ancestors.  They  are  formed  out  of  small 
elephant  tusks,  which  have  been  scooped  out  and  shaved 
down  to  within  two  or  three  inches  of  the  mouthpiece. 
Strips  of  elephant  hide  or  lizard  skin  are  sometimes 
neatly  fitted  round  part  of  the  horn  and  sewn  with  gut. 
The  centre  part  of  the  instrument,  which  has  become 
much  discoloured  by  time,  is  decorated  with  various 
curious  designs.  These  probably  were  intended  for  hiero- 
glyphic writing  or  distinguishing  family  marks,  but  their 

168 


m 

1  "r""*^. 


"i  i 


The  Pigmies  and  their  Neighbours 

significance,  if  ever  their  really  was  any,  is  quite  unknown 
to  the  present  enerations.  The  Bahuku  are  very  loth 
to  part  with  these  horns  for  fear  of  offending  the  spirits 
of  their  forefathers.  A  few,  however,  were  willing  to  risk 
their  displeasures  when  they  saw  the  skinny  little  goats 
we  sent  out  as  purchase  money. 

Human  flesh  is  regaru.d  as  a  luxury  among  them, 
besides  corpse-eating.  The  upper  class  buy  from  the 
peasants  their  dead  for  two  to  six  goats.  The  bodies 
that  are  not  sold  for  food  are  buried  with  a  very  prolonged 
ceremony.  A  deep  hole  is  digged  and  the  corpse  is 
placed  in  a  sitting  posture  with  the  hands  crossed  on  the 
chest.  It  is  then  covered  over  with  earth  as  far  as  the 
neck  ;  the  head  is  left  exposed  for  six  days,  during  which 
time  the  friends  come  and  bestow  on  t  their  farewell 
glances.  Then  the  burial  is  completed  and  the  grave  is 
carefully  swept  and  guarded  day  and  night  until  the 
family  removes  to  another  place. 

Their  religion  is  a  form  of  fetishism.  Tiny  devil 
temples  are  built  among  the  long  grass  away  from  the 
homes  of  the  peoples  so  that  the  evil  spirits  may  be  kept 
at  a  safe  distance.  Only  the  men  and  old  women  are 
allowed  to  visit  tht^a  little  grass  temples  to  take  offerings 
of  food  or  to  practice  divination.  The  men  take  with 
them  a  horn  in  order  to  acquaint  their  wives  with  the 
time  of  their  worship. 

Several  from  among  these  people  came  and  visited  us 
during  our  stay  in  Mboga,  and  although  they  were  quite 
friendly,  they  expressed  no  wish  for  a  teacher  to  be  sent 
to  them.  Indeed,  their  minds  seemed  so  unutterably  void 
that  they  appeared  incapable  of  receiving  any  new  impres- 
sion. 


ics"    i 


Babira  and  Balega. 

A  few  years  ago,  before  European  rule  was  established 
over  the  country,   Mboga  could  scarcely  have  been  a 

169 


iliiif 


i-  . 


■a?|  I 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

desirable  quarter  in  which  to  find  oneself  shut  up.  The 
Bahuku,  on  the  west,  then  practised  cannibalism  without 
any  restraint,  and  captured  anyone  who  ventured  near 
their  domain. 

Then,  while  the  vindictive  little  pigmies  and  half- 
tamed  Bambuba  enclosed  it  on  the  south  and  west,  two 
powerful  and  savage  tribes  joined  hands  and  claimed  the 
district  running  north,  right  along  to  the  western  shores 
of  the  Albert  Lake.     These  Babira  and  Balega  people  are 
very  closely  allied   in   features   and  customs,   but    the 
former   are    numerically  very   inferior.     These   have  a 
peculiar  practice,  which  I  believe  to  be  unique  among 
Central  African  tribes,  that  is,  the  women  bore  a  hole  in 
their  top  lip  and  gradually  increasing  this  until  it  is  able 
to  enclose  a  disc  of  wood  two  and  even  three  inches  in 
diameter.     A  Mubira  woman  came  to  call  on  us  whose 
disc  measured  two  and  five-eight  inches  across.  The  sire  of 
the  wood   inserted  proclaims  the  rank   of  the  person. 
Peasants  are  only  allowed  to  wear  pieces  of  stick  the 
same  dimension  as  a  match.     The  weight  of  the  v/ood 
causes  the  lip  to  fall  down  over  the  mouth,  and,  in  order 
to  eat,  it  is  necessary  to  lift  up  this  shutter  with  one 
hand  while  the  other  conveys  the  food  to  the  mouth. 
Frequently  the  lip  breaks  under  the  strain  put  upon  it,  in 
which  case  the  disconnected  ends  are  carried  back  and 
tied  to  the  ear. 

While  the  Balega  do  not  adopt  this  inhuman  custom 
of  their  neighbours,  they  have  not  reached  cO  their  degree 
of  civilisation  in  introducing  clothing.  The  Balega 
women  still  groan  under  the  weight  of  pounds  of  thick 
brass  wire  wound  round  their  arms  and  legs.  This  is 
supplemented  by  a  prodigious  amount  of  beads. 

Until  brought  under  Belgian  rule  these  pecnle  refused 
to  recognise  allegiance  to  any  power.  Noni.naily  they 
were  under  Bunyoro,  for  the  King  of  that  countrj'  years  ago 
went  across  and  laid  waste  the  whole  district  plundering 

170 


;i!:   ' 


AN     MUBIRA    LADY  :    AN     AFTERNOON    CALLER. 


.1       i', 

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A    NATIVE   OF   BULEGA  :    Ihc  ftr.t  to  be  baptised  of  hit  i 


The  Pigmies  and  their  Neighbours 

their  sheep,  cattle,  and  women.  This  was  repeated 
by  successive  kinds  till  the  people  were  compelled  to 
yield  to  the  claims  of  the  Banyoro.  But  their  submission 
was  compulsory  and  not  permanent,  so  that  when  Bunyoro 
was  troubled  with  civil  war  and  outside  foes  the  Balega 
ceased  to  be  controlled  by  them.  But  the  Banyoro  are 
very  proud  of  a  legend  that  relates  how  their  King 
Ndohura,  who  conquered  the  Balega,  while  fighting  them 
broke  his  stick  and  from  it  sprung  up  the  Forest  of  Kirare. 
Returning  from  the  war  the  same  King  is  said  to  have 
Flipped  on  a  rock,  and  his  footprint  is  to  be  seen  to  this 
day. 

These  people  are  very  clannish  and  insular.  Children 
remain  under  their  mothers'  roof  until  they  marry.  If, 
like  the  "  old  woman,"  they  lived  in  a  shoe,  the  mother 
would  need  a  fairly  roomy  one,  for  often  her  offspring 
number  twenty  to  thiity.  As  a  man  possesses  many 
wives  he  has  a  lively  time  trying  to  keep  his  children  in 
hand.  When  the  sons  marry  they  bring  their  wives  and 
build  close  to  the  old  homestead,  and  generally  continue 
to  recognise  the  authority  of  their  father,  and  no  other. 

They  believe  in  an  evil  spirit  called  Nyakasana,  for 
whom  they  build  a  little  grass  temple  in  the  court  yard  of 
their  houses.  They  always  offer  to  him  the  first-fruits 
of  their  potato,  Indian  corn  and  millet  crops,  and  when 
they  kill  a  goat  for  meat  or  entrap  an  antelope  they  take 
to  their  little  temple  a  portion  of  the  flesh,  before  tasting 
it  themselves.  Th  spirits  of  the  dead  have  constantly 
to  be  propitiated  by  gifts  of  food  and  live  stock.  These 
are  carefully  kept  apart,  and  when  any  member  of  the 
family  is  taken  ill,  the  offerings  to  the  dead  are  brought 
in,  so  that  the  sick  person  shall  look  on  them  and 
recover. 

During  our  stay  at  Mboga,  the  first  man  from  the 
Balega  tribe  was  baptised,  and  since  then  several 
teachers  have  gone  to  them  from  Bunyoro  and  found 

171 


^'^If 


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I        I 


;■ »'  t 


• 

Vi    : 

B;             1 

t     i 


l^it 


On  the  Borders  of  P!gmy  Land 

a  great  willingness  and  desire  among  the  people  for 
instruction. 

Thus  gradually  the  Light  is  dawning  on  "Darkest 
Africa." 

"Arise  shine,  for  the  light  is  come  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For  behold  the  darkness 
shall  cover  the  earth  and  gross  darkness  the  people  but 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee  .  .  . 
And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  Thy  light,  and  kings  to 
the  brightness  of  Thy  rising."    Isaiah. 


•  I'l 

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172 


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STIFF    CLIMBING:    A   CLIMB    TO   THE    SNOWS. 


Man 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
A  Climb  to  the  Snows 

IT  is  impossible  to  live  any  length  of  time  in  close 
proximity  to  Ruwenzori  without  being  overcome 
with  a  desire  to  reach  the  land  of  glittering  ice  that 
re:.embles  an  enchanted  city  with  its  pinnacles, 
turrets  and  domes  pointing  upward  to  the  sun,  which  with 
all  its  equatorial  strength  has  ineffectually  endeavoured  to 
displace  the  age-Ion-  rows  and  ice.  The  highest  point 
has,  in  recent  years,  been  estimated  to  reac*  =  'Ititude 
of  20,000  to  22,000  feet.  The  snows  are  not  uL.  clearly 
visible,  for  in  the  dry  season  the  hot  heavy  mist  that 
envelops  the  whole  country  completely  hides  the  range 
from  view,  while  in  the  wet  season  clouds  frequently  veil 
the  highest  peaks.  From  the  glaciers  rush  numerous 
streams  that  flow  down  into  the  Albert  Edward  Lake, 
and  out  again  by  the  River  Semliki  to  the  Albert  Lake 
and  the  Nile.  In  ancient  times  an  Egyptian  caravan 
road  extended  right  down  into  these  interior  districts 
along  the  route  of  this  great  natural  watercourse.  Doubt- 
less the  Egyptians,  and  probably  Solomon,  drew  their 
supplies  of  ivory  from  the  vast  herds  of  elephants  that 
still  ramble  about  round  Ruwenzori  with  tusks  some 
weighing  150  to  20olbs.  each. 

The  old  legend  that  the  sacred  river  Nile  had  its 
source  in  Heaven  may  have  originated  from  the  reports 
brought  back  by  traders  that  one  of  its  most  important 
tributaries  flowed  down  from  a  mountain  that  seemed  to 
reach  into  Heaven.    The  Baganda  call  the  mountain 

173 


lA 


III 


:l.«i 


I)  ''I 


On  the  Borders  cf  Pigmy  Land 

" Gambalugula  lufumba  ebiri,"  which  means  "the  leaf 
that  cooks  the  clouds."  This  has  reference  to  their 
custom  of  cooking  all  their  food  in  banana  leaves.  Their 
imagination  regards  the  mountains  as  a  big  leaf  which 
holds  the  clouds  over  the  boiling  springs  that  bubble  up 
from  the  base  of  ''■^  mountain,  the  mists  that  sweep 
down  the  mountain  les  is  the  stream  from  the  "cook- 
ing pot." 

Ruwenzori  does  not  consist  of  one  single  snow  peak 
like  Kilimanjaro  and  Kenia,  but  vast  fields  of  inter- 
cepted snow  and  ice  extend  for  over  twenty  miles  North 
and  South. 

The  late  Sir  Henry  Stanley  heard  of  its  existence  in 
1875,  but  not  until  his  second  visit  to  its  locality  in  1887 
did  he  obtain  a  complete  view  of  the  snows. 

Since  that  date  several  have  tried  to  reach  the  glaciers, 
but  only  three  expeditions  had  been  successful  up  to  the 
time  of  our  ascent.  Others  had  proved  unfortunate  in 
the  time  of  year,  for  it  is  impossible  to  accomplish 
the  task  in  the  wet  season.  Mountain  sickness,  and 
pneumonia  among  the  carriers  had  compelled  others  to 
turn  back  from  the  attempt.  Until  1904  no  one  had 
tried  to  reach  the  snows  from  the  Western  side  of  the 
mountain  range.  From  the  east  several  had  unsuccess- 
fully endeavoured  to  discover  a  route  to  higher  altitudes, 
but  the  one  along  the  course  of  the  Mubuku  River  was 
the  only  one  that  had  proved  practicable.  During  our 
visit  to  Mboga  we  were  very  fortunate  to  obtain  con- 
tinual views  of  the  snow  peaks,  and  we  were  convinced 
that  an  ascent  from  that  side  of  the  mountains  would 
prove  more  resultful.  This  has  been  conclusively  con- 
Hrmed  since  by  a  recent  explorer,  Dr.  David,  who 
reached  a  point  16,000  feet  high ;  that  is,  1,200  feet 
higher  than  anyone  previously.  To  scale  Ruwenzori's 
highest  point  must  remain  an  impossible  task.  No  one 
could  endure  the  penetrating  cold  for  the  period  of  time 

174 


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,[l   »  w(,' 


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X 

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'^  'I 


I'      is: 


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A  Climb  to  the  Snows 

required  to  master  the  prolonged  and  precipitous  heights. 
Besides  a  complete  Alpine  outfit  being  required,  tent  and 
food  would  be  compulsory,  and  no  native  would  under- 
take the  transport  of  these  things  beyond  the  lowest 
glacier  point,  and  even  if  this  difficulty  could  be  overcome, 
camping  space  might  be  sought  for  in  vain.  Judging 
from  the  angle  at  which  my  bed  was  placed  at  one  camp, 
I  can  picture  an  over  ambitious  adventurer,  having 
pitched  his  tent  within  3,000  feet  of  the  summit,  suddenly 
finding  himself  and  his  belongings  toboganning  down 
over  the  glaciers  at  lightning  speed,  only  stopping  to  find 
himself  landed  in  a  freezing  morass. 

In  1903,  Rev.  A.  L.  Kitching,  Mr.  Fisher,  and  myself 
started  off  for  a  trip  to  that  unfrequented  region.  Our 
baggage  looked  more  suitable  for  a  Polar  expedition  than 
a  climb  on  the  Equator.  Every  conceivable  fusty  and 
moth  eaten  winter  garment  was  hauled  out  and  i  .eked 
into  a  waterproof  sack ;  eiderdown  quilts,  India  rubber 
foot  warmers,  and  bales  of  blankets  for  ourselves  and 
boys  formed  part  of  the  caravan.  The  reports  of  our 
mountaineering  predecessors  led  us  to  anticipate  an 
arduous  and  colossal  task,  but  our  ambition  was  not  to 
attempt  more  than  those  who  had  a  wider  experience  in 
mountain  climbing  than  ourselves,  but  to  stand  on  that 
untraversed  land  of  ice  where  scarcely  mortal  foot  had 
trod,  and  to  inhale  its  cool  life-giving  air  so  that  we 
might  be  refreshed  for  a  return  to  work  in  the  hot 
*\    Mr  lowlands. 

lary  was  the  time  fixed  on  for  the  expedition.  That  is 
tally  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  reliably  dry  months 
te  year,  but  the  mountains  manage  to  upset  all  one's 
calculations,  and  in  Toro  fine  weather  is  more  the  excep- 
tion than  the  rule.  So  we  found  ourselves  in  a  few 
very  stiff  storms  before  we  had  even  reached  the  base  of 
the  mountains.  Our  porters  were  aggravatingly  discour- 
aging, and  on  the  first  day,  regarding  my  skirt  flapping 

175 


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f 


II  ^  I 


iU 


fill    ;* 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

about  after  a  drenching  shower,  shook  their  heads,  and 
said,  "  Perhaps  the  two  Bwanas  will  reach  the  snows, 
but  who  ever  heard  of  a  woman  doing  it."  They  did  not 
understand  that  their  very  argument  was  one  of  my 
strongest  incentives !  Four  days  of  strong  marching 
from  Kabarole  brought  us  to  a  village  of  the  Bakonjo 
called  Bihunga.  It  was  about  6,oooft.  high,  tucked  away 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  mountains.  Frowning  peaks  and 
ridge  upon  ridge  of  dense  foresting  completely  shut  us  in 
from  the  outside  world.  Save  for  the  noise  of  the  River 
Mubuku,  as  it  rushed  madly  down  and  tumbled  into  the 
valley  beneath,  there  was  no  sound  to  break  the  deep 
silence  of  the  mountains.  All  nature  was  at  perfect  peace 
with  itself,  and  the  few  clouds  that  seemed  wearied 
in  their  flight  through  the  hot,  dry  air  rested  for  a  while 
on  the  green  slopes  as  if  to  enjoy  the  quiet  and  beauty  of 
the  scene.  It  was  to  these  strongholds  that  the  Batoro 
fled  in  past  times  for  security  when  the  raiding  King 
Kabarega  of  Bunyoro  made  plundering  expeditions  into 
their  country.  Although  they  found  safety  and  shelter  in 
the  thickly-wooded  crevices  and  creeks,  the  refugees 
searched  in  vain  for  food,  and  while  some  were  able  to 
drag  through  the  time  of  their  temporary  captivity  by 
subsisting  on  the  roots  and  leaves  of  wild  plants, 
hundreds  are  said  to  have  died  from  hunger  and 
exposure. 

The  so-called  village  at  which  we  halted  was  a  collec- 
tion of  three  tiny  circular  huts,  built  of  poles  packed  as 
closely  together  as  possible.  Round  and  outside  these 
was  tied  a  thick  padding  of  dried  banana  bark,  leaves, 
and  saplings,  as  protection  from  the  gales  and  storms  that 
blew  down  from  the  snows  and  whistled  round  these 
little  dwellings. 

A  grandsire  and  his  dame,  two  sous,  one  daughter-in- 
law,  and  an  infant  composed  the  entire  population.  The 
old  man,   in  a   very  contented  state  of  mind,  sat  in 

176 


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RK 

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(    « 


A  Climb  to  the  Snows 

the  doorway  of  his  hut  smoking  a  pipe  over  a  foot  in 
length.    He  gave  us  a  most  reassuring  smile  of  welcome. 
The  two  females,  heavily  decked  round  the  knees  and 
arms   with    scores    of   plaited    and   greased    bracelets 
immediately  made  off  with   themselves  into  the  thick 
vegetation,  and  only  came  out  of  their  hiding  by  a  great 
deal  of  persuasion.     We  explained  to  the  people  the 
object  we  had  in  view,  --.nd  how  we  wanted  to  leave  our 
Batoro  porters  with  them  to  await  our  return,  while  we 
took  on  men  from  among  them  who  were  acquainted 
with  the  mountains  and  inured  to  the  cold.    The  two 
young  men  at  once  offered  their  services,  and  promised 
instantly  to  get   together    as  many    other    porters    as 
required.    We  wondered  how  they  could  do  this,  as  there 
was  no  sign  of  a  habitation,  excepting  two  lonely  huts  on 
a  far  distant  height.     But,  after  making  a  long,  far-reach- 
mg  sound  with  their  lips,  there  suddenly  appeared,  as  if 
by  magic,  quite  a  number  of  figures  emerging  from  far 
and  near.      The  Bakonjo,  in  the  old  times  of  rapine  and 
oppression,  had  chosen  out  the  most  secluded  spot  where 
they  might  safely  build  their  homes,  and  they  still  adopt 
this  practice,  from  custom-no  longer  from  necessity. 
Among  the  dense  forest  growth  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
detect  their  huts,  and  as  only  a  very  small  minority  of 
the  Bakonjo  cultivate  the  soil,  there  is  nothing  around  to 
indicate  human  existence. 

As  is  the  case  among  most  of  these  tribes,  the  women 
do  all  the  digging  and  sowing,  but  they  are  very  few 
m  number  as  compared  with  the  men.  and  in  consequence 
are  regarded  as  valuable  property,  and  not  to  be  worked 
to  excess.  Being  naturally  more  prone  to  indolence 
than  industry,  the  furnishing  of  the  daily  board  depends 
almost  solely  on  what  the  husbands  can  bring  in  from 
the  hunt  and  exchange,  but  they  generally  keep  in  store 
a  stock  of  arum  roots  (the  women's  cultivation)  on  which 
they  can  fall  back   when   fortune    fails    the   huntsmen. 

177  « 


1 


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If' 

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Jg!  !    If.,         k  I,       ?•* 


^i      J 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

The  men  are  a  striking  race,  their  arduous  searchini 
after  rats  and  conies  (hyrax)  oft-  -  leads  them  up  to  Z 
regions  of  .ce ;  this  constant  climbing  and  exposure  to  the 
cold  have  developed  their  muscles  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  and  with  the  surefootedness  of  a  mule  and  lieht- 
ness  of  a  gazelle  they  spring  up  the  steepest  bank  and 
rock,  experiencing  no  fatigue. 

Besides  being  their  chief  item  of  diet,  the  coney  supplies 
them  with  practic  /  their  sole  clothing.  Six  or  eight  ol 
the  little  skins  are  sewn  together,  and  worn  over  the 
shoulders,  secured  by  a  thin  piece  of  hide  round  the 

Although  the  conies  have  enough  sens,  of  self- 
preservation  to  burrow  among  the  rocks  for  s.'  ter.  thev 
have  not  sufficient  instinct  to  escape  their  capturers  whw^ 
once  they  have  tracked  them  down.  The  men  sit 
patiently  for  hours  outside  the  conies'  entrance  door,  and 
when  at  last  the  little  creatures  come  out  in  single  fil.  to 
search  for  a  meal,  a  stick  suddenly  descends  on  one  head 
after  another ;  sometimes  fourteen  to  fifteen  in  one  famUy 
are  killed  off  in  this  way.  ' 

Twenty  men  were  chosen  out,  from  those  that  offered 

twn'lr  '"""T;  '^"^  u"'^'"'  ^"'■^  '^PP°''^*«'*  guides.^ 
two  of  special  strength  were  told  off  to  help  me  ovw  the 

exceptionally  rough  bits  of  climbing.  While  the  neces- 
sary agreements  were  being  gone  through,  the  sky 
became  suddenly  overcast  with  dense,  threatening  clou^ 
and  a  loud  clap  of  thunder,  that  reverberated  Si  round 
us  again  and  again,  scattered  us  in  every  direction  with 
great  speed  to  our  several  homes.  From  the  tiny 
window  of  our  bedraggled  tent  we  peeped  out  at  the 
storm,  as  the  forked  lightning  struck  one  peak  after 
another  almost  simultaneously,  and  the  thunder  concus- 
sions made  the  very  mountains  tremble 

Dante  s  Inferno,  seemed  to  have  assumed  living  fom 

178 


. ' 


.     .i 

F       "Wf 

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1 

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II : »; 


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'll"f  1  ' ' 

-hi  i 

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■     ; 

.4li  ^^ 

J|ij 

■Mft^^^ 

A  Climb  to  the  Snows 

here.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  believe  that  such  a 
transformation  could  have  taken  place  in  so  short  a  time, 
for  in  comparatively  few  minutes  day  was  plunged  into 
night,  calm  into  torrential  storms,  and  quietude  into  a 
fierce  battle  of  the  elements. 

When  we  at   last  ventured  to  draw  back  the  canvas 
rioorway  the  rain  had  ceased,  and  mud,  mud,  mud  lay 
everywhere.    The  storm  had  left  behind  it  a  cold,  raw 
dismal  evening.    And  there  drawn  up  in  single  file  before 
the  tent  were  our  twenty  porters  and  guides,  who,  in 
order  to  appear  more  pathetic,  had  come  without  their 
fur  shoulder  garments.     One  of  the  guides  stepped  for- 
ward as  spokesman  and  explained  that  they  wanted  to  be 
paid  in  advance.      They  absolutely  refused  shells  and 
rupees,  and  would  only  accept  calico,  which,  they  -^aid 
would  protect  them  from  the  cold  on  the  journey  to  the 
snows.     Judging  from  the  quantity  of  clothes  we  had 
heaped  already  on  ourselves  to  keep  off  the  penetrating 
damp    wmd,    their    demand    threatened    to   be  a   real 
difficulty,  as  we  had  only  equipped  ourselves  with  a 
limited  supply  of  calico.     They  were  then  asked  what 
length  of  material  each  required  as  wages,  and  in  a  halt 
timid  voice,  as  if  afraid  of  uttering  such  an  extortion  the 
answer  came  "three  hands  apiece"  (one  and  a  half  yards) 
Our  calico  managed  to  run  to  that,  and  thereupon  each 
man  received  his  advance  payment.     With  a  broad  grin 
of  satisfaction  and  pride  they  struggled  to  tuck  as  much 
of  themselves  as  possible  inside  their  fifty-four  inches  of 
material.      The  result  was  quite  ludicroi.-,    but    they 
appeared  perfectly  delighted.     Evidently  their  plea  had 
only  been  a  ruse  to  insure  their  wages,  for  none  of  the 
calico  was  seen  on   the  journey.      The   only  personal 
impedimenta  with  whi        .ost  of  them  travelled  were  a 
few  strands  of   smouldering  grass  encased   in   a    bark 
sheath.    This  was  brought  out  immediately  we  struck 
camp,  and  they  had  ferretted  out  a  shelter  for  themselves 

179 


'IS" 

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On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

1  nder  a  rock  or  trees.  Afire  was  quickly  kindled,  and 
round  this  they  all  squatted  and  roasted  the  conies  the-, 
had  ent!  ippcd  during  the  day's  climb.  At  night  they  did 
n  >t  att'^mpt  to  erect  a  hut  or  covering,  but  ma  ,itained 
tiiis  sa  (ramped  position  round  the  fire;  they  inter- 
laced arms,  and  each  one  slept  with  his  head  resting  n 
the  next  man's  shoulder.  On  one  occasion  the  rain 
poured  down  upon  them  all  night  long,  and  alth^igh  their 
little  sii  ,iild.'r  coney-skins  were  hopelessly  i  adequate 
to  insur'j  t.iem  against  a  thorough  soakin  they  turned 
up  in  thv  norn  ig  in  the  most  cheerful  spirits,  absolut  iy 
unaffe    ed  ^-y  'heir  uncongenial  surroundings. 

In  p  -  pan  11;  for  the  actual  ascent  to  •'      snows  from 
Bihun,:::"   wc   -re  obli     d  to  reduce  our    .utfit  to  mere 
essenti.  Is.      a   large  caravan   would  ha^      expr  lenced 
considerable  duhcuity  in  the  matter  of  f.  )d;  and  each 
man  was  only  able    o  car.y  a  load  of  tw  nty  to  twenty- 
five  pounds,  which  was  ''astened  to  a  strong  sling  of  fibre 
and  slipped  round  thr    jrehea  1.    Thi-  metixid  of  carrying 
is  adopted  by  the  H  .konjo  trib.  ,    ,nd   leaves  the  arms 
perfectly  free  for  climbing  up  on  fours,  which  is  S(  often 
necessary.     I  was  the  only  member  of  the  party  pri    leged 
with   d  bed;  the   two   men  had  i     content   themselves 
with  waterproof  sacks     id  blanki  is.     Our  boys  judged 
spoons,  forks,  and  knives        non-essentials  and  reduced 
us  to  two  forks  and  one  pc  '-knife,    u  for  some  days  we 
had  to  return  to  the  rrost  primitive  manners  at  meal- 
times.    Out  first  days  real  climbing  began  in    i  kind  o 
retrograde  direction,  i  r  wo  had  to  slide  down       hope 
lessly  greasy  track  for  some  two  hundred  vards.         /  two 
supporters  evidently  anticipated  a  lively  time ;  th       wen 
required  to  render  aid  at  once      the  fact    was,      y-  ftet 
refused  to  stick,  and  in  strugglir    to  keep  me        a  vnth 
yards  of  calico  brought  round    jnder  my  arms,      nearly 
succeeded  in  dragging  them  down  head-hrst.     Th.  /  were 


cd  to 


a^c  bcitir  tiian  tr  it,  ami  they  p;om 
180 


1  to 


L^     I 


U'-l^ 


I  mm 

■'.•HI 


md 


died,  and 
tnies  they 
t  they  did 
lu  ntained 
ley  inter- 
esting n 
the  rain 
ugh  their 
(adequate 
y  turned 
bsolut  iy 

-^ws  from 

to  mere 
serienced 
md  each 
)  twenty- 
g  of  fibre 

carrying 
^he  arms 
i  sc'  oftcti 
ri-  leged 
emselves 
s  judged 

reduced 
days  wc 
It  meal- 

kind  0 

uupe 

/two 

t--  wen 

mj  feet 

_k  with 

nearly 

i>  \'  were 

n      i  to 


!    I 


'■: 

jf^^ 

.j 

f      i 

-^ 

:i^  i  1 ' 

A  Climb  to  the  Snows 


improve,  but  explained  how  they  had  had  no  practice  at 
that  kind  of  travelling,  and  were  a  little  unprepared  for 
it.    I  again  tried  the  plan  of  a  calico  body  sling  when  a 
very  steep  bracken  ascent  had  to  be  scaled,  and  the  sun 
was  at  its  height.     The  men  went  in  front,  each  pulling 
most  vigorously  at  the  calico  end  which  he  held,   but 
they  somehow  always   managed  to  jerk  in  the  wrong 
place.    Just  as  I  had  breathlessly  succeeded  in  securing 
a  foothold  a  big  pull  frc   i  the  front  almost  robbed  me  of 
my  last  gasp.     So  I  dispensed  with  such  questionable 
aid  and  found  all  the  help  I  wanted  in  a  long  bamboo 
which  our  guide  presented  to  me  as  a  kind  of  charm,  for 
it  had  taken  hirn  up  to  the  glacier  when  he  escorted  Sir 
Harry  Johnston's  expedition.    At  an  altitude  of  seven 
thousand    feet    we    reached    the    point    where   tropical 
vegetation  assumes  its  most  exquisite  form.     The  river 
Mubuku  had  to  be  crossed  and  recrossed  six  times  in  the 
one  march,  and  all  along  its  river  bed  was  the  richest 
display  of  varied  fc.  ns  of  vegetable  life.    Several  species 
of  palm  trees,  a  few  waywaid  bamboos,  tree-ferns,  a  tree 
resembling  the  English  yew,  anu  the  bright  red-flowering 
Ekinkiti  tree.     The  forests  passed  through   frequently 
recalled  some  of  the  most  charming  parts  of  Devonshire  ; 
the  ground  was  carpeted  with  ferns  and  moss  interspersed 
with  forget-me-nots  and  orchids. 

At  Bihunga  we  left  behind  all  human  habitation.  Our 
first  halt  after  leaving  it  was  under  a  rock  at  a  height  of 
eight  thousand  feet.  From  the  almost  intolerable  silence 
It  seemed  as  if  we  had  also  got  beyond  all  amimal  life. 
We  listened  in  vain  for  the  insect's  hum,  the  bird's 
chirruppmg.  or  the  squabbling  of  the  monkeys.  How- 
ever, similar  welcome  sounds  had  not  entirely  ceased,  for 
very  occasionally  a  night  bird  hooted,  a  rat  squeaked,  or 
a  solitary  fly  cheered  us  with  its  living  presence. 

Our  campiBg  space  was  decidedly  cramped,  and  the 
tent  felt  very  insecure,  for  it  was  impossible  to  drive  poles 

181 


t 


l--''\ 


III 


t 


ti'l 


i  j; 


i  .'i 


h  ■  l<i 


t    i     ■  i 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

or  pegs  into  the  rocks ;  the  canvas  merely  had  to  be 
balanced  by  tying  the  ropes  to  large  stones.  Water  was 
also  very  scarce,  and,  in  spite  of  a  consuming  thirst  after 
our  hot  chmb.  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with 
two  cups  of  tea  and  half  that  amount  for  a  wash  down. 

The  region  of  Bamboo  Forests  was  next  reached,  and 
It  was  disappointing  to  find  that  what  looked  so  attractive 
from  a  distance  beneath  when  seen  from  within  was 
nothmg  but  a  monotonous  stretch  of  stiff  brown  .ticks 
surmounted  by  masses  of  green  grass.    The  bamboos  had 
completely  monopolised  the  soil  to  the  exclusion  of  almost 
every  other  plant.     For  hours  we  were  pushing  our  way 
through  these  obstinate  poles  that  would  not  bend  or 
budge  an  mch  to  let  us  through.     Men  went  before  to 
slash  them  down,  and  as  we  stumbled  over  the  broken 
stems  my  poor  skirt  was  literally  torn  into  shreds,  even 
though  It  had  been  shortened  eight  inches  the  previous  da  . 
Emerging  from  bamboo-land  we  crossed  a  stretch  of 
mareh  and  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  frowning  bare 
rock  peaks  which  rose  almost  perpendicularly  from  where 
we  stood.    Pointing  up  to  a  spot  about  one  thousand  feet 
above  us,  our  guide  indicated  the  only  possible  halting 
place.    Although  so  near,  it  took  us  over  two  hours  to 
reach ;  with  the  utmost  caution  we  had  to  drag  our  bodies 
up  the  sheer  face  of  the  rocks.    At  one  place  we  had 
recourse  to  a  rough  native  ladder  formed  of  two  long 
bamboo  poles  with  rungs  of  the  same  tied  with  grass. 
This  was   placed    against  an   absolutely  smooth-faced 
stretch  of  rock,  where  for  a  space  of  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
no  hold  could  be  obtained.    To  add  to  the  danger,  strong 
mountain  streams  were  pouring,  down  over  the  rocks,  not 
only  soaking  us  through,  but  making  our  grip  less  secure. 
Certainly  I  had  never  before  been  in  such  a  critical 
position  ;  It  was  quite  impossible  to  get  a  real  firm  foot- 
ing, and  one  slip  might  have  resulted  in  dragging  oth^ 
down  mto  the  seething  waters  and  rocka  that  lay  beneath. 

182 


<:> 


'*^    1 


m " 


A  Climb  to  the  Snows 

On  reaching  the  top,  vegetation  assunied  an  entirely 
new  form.    The  only  trees  were  gigantic  heaths,  but  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  them,  for  the  stems 
were  covered  with  a  thick  moss,  which  in  some  places 
was  12  inches  deep.     In  colouring  it  varied  from  a  dark 
brown  to  a  light  golden  or  deep  red.    The  trees  were 
almost  entirely  denuded  of  leaf,  and  festoons  of  whitish 
lichen  hung  from  branch  to  branch.  The  ground  was  very 
marshy,  for  the  hills  that  enclosed  us  emptied  down  into  it 
numerous  small  torrents.    About  fifteen  square  yards  of 
dry  land  was  found  on  which  to  erect  our  tent  and  hang 
up  the  clothes  to  dry.    Our  stout  marching  boots  had 
dready  succumbed  to  the  rough  usage,  and  we  each  took 
a  strong  needle  and  thread  to  see  who  could  turn  out  the 
neatest  job.    In  the  evening  the  rain  poured  down  upon 
us  in  a  deluge,  and  continued  all  night  till    it  even 
penetrated  the  double  roof  of  our  canvas  waterproof  tent ; 
besides  this,  as  we  were  now  at  an  altitude  of  lo.oooft., 
the  cold  was  indescribable.   Each  breath  we  took  seemed 
t"  cut  at  the  chest  like  a  knife,  and,  in  spite  of  blankets 
and  an  eider-down,  it  was  impossible  to  sleep  with  the 
damp  piercing  cold.    All  the  following  day    the    rain 
continued  and  kept  us  prisoners  at  this  indescribably 
cheerless  spot.   I  had  time  to  overhaul  the  shattered  skirt  ; 
it  looked  a  hopeless  task,  for  it  really  would  not  bear 
shortening  again.    The  advice  was  then  given  me  to  cut 
it  up  and  put  it  into  bands  under  the  knees,  which  I  acted 
upon  on  hearing  the  toughest  bit  of  climbing  was  yet  to 
come.    When  we  were  at  last  able  to  push  on,  and  the 
garment  was  worn  with  puttees  and  a  football  jersey,  I 
felt  like  an  evoluted  man. 

For  three  hours  from  Kicucu  camp  we  did  not  once 
touch  the  ground ;  during  the  whole  of  that  time  we  were 
slowly  climbing  with  hands  and  feet  over  fallen  heather 
that  for  scores  of  years  mubt  have  lain  in  that  position, 
only  becoming  more  seasoned  with  time.    The  thick  mo$s 

199 


I 


i 


i 


PlflTii 


■MWi^lllJ 


11  i-  iii 


I,  .:■: 


iiJ  1 


^Sd: 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

that  still  clung  on  to  the  slender  bark  was  very  deceptive 

and,  when  mistaken  for  P  -n  soil,  broke  away  from  the  tree 

and  one  suddenly  found  oneself  slipping  down,   down 

between   branches  and  barks;   fortunately  there  was  a 

depth  of  fallen  forest  underneath,  and  this  saved  me  from 

disappearing  beyond  the  armpits.     These  heaths  grow 

on  the  rocks  in  a  very  thin  surface  soil  which  is  not  able 

to  support  them  when  they  reach  great  heights,  conse- 

quently  the  tree  falls,  and  in  this  way  the  irregular  jagged 

rocks  have  been  bridged  and  joined  up  by  the  continually 

mcreasing  amount  of  timber  thrown  across. 

Having  once  disentangled  ourselves  from  this  tumbled- 
down  forest,  a  weird  scene  was  opened  out  before  us 
Almost  surrounded  by  a  lofty  ridge  of  rocks  was  a  wide 
nver  basm  fed  by  the  melting  snow  from  above.    With 
the  exception  of  one  waterfall  which  poured  down  from  a 
height  of  about  200  feet,  the  water  did  not  descend  in 
streams,  but  fell  slowly  in  sheets  from  the  surrounding 
rocks.     The  few  trees  visible  were  entirely  enveloped  in 
the  white  lichen,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  thick 
drab  moss,  dwarf  cactus  plants,  and  a  tall  green  poker 
called    by  botanists  lobelia,   but    resembling  in    shape 
Cleopatra's  needle.     The  effect   was  that   of   a    world 
tottering  in  its  old  age  on  the  verge  of  death— it  was 
easier  to  imagine  it  another  planet,  for  is  it  possible  to 
recognise   Earth  without   voice,  without  colouring,  and 
almost  without  life.     We  plunged  through  this  morass 
and  found  the  moss  saturated  like  a  sponge  with  freezing 
water.    The  effect  was  chilling  in  the  extreme,  and  before 
we  had  crossed  it  half  way  my  limbs  felt  quite  numbed 
with  the  cold  ;  I  scarcely  knew  how  I  dragged  myself  up 
into  our  last  camp.     The  roof  only  of  our  tent  was  some- 
how  fixed  up  under  a  rock,  over  the  entrance  of  which 
water  continuously  trickled.     But  these  little  discomforts 
were  quite   forgotten   when  towards  sunset  the  clouds 
rolled  away  and  the  land  of  snow  and  ice  was  revealed 

m 


i 

■ 

II 

'i  M 

ill 

il 

■'  !■" 


f   ,' 


MULUKU    OLACIBR. 


.tL  i 


A  Climb  to  the  Snows 


*^^ 


crowning  near  ridges  and  peaks  with  iti  dazzling  white- 
nera,  while  in  the  hollows  and  clefts  all  round  lay  patches  of 
glistening  ice.    Before  sunrise  next  morning  we  were  all 
astir,  impatient  to  reach  the  goal  of  our  expectations.  The 
air  was  clear  and  crisp,  patches  of  freshly  fallen  snow  lay 
around  us  on  all  sides,  icicles  hung  from  the  rocks,  and 
little    frozen  puddles   glistened    lil'e   glass.    The   wet 
penetrating  cold  of  the  two  previous  days,  was    now 
exchanged  for  the  dry  frosty  breezes  that  nipped  toes, 
finger-tips,  nose,  and  ears.     Although  the  thermometer 
had  fallen  to  freezing  point,  no  numbing  sensation  was 
experienced ;  but  as  the  blood  tingled  through  the  veins 
it  seemed  to  impart  a  feeling  of  rejuvenation,   and  an 
uncontrollable  exhilaration  laid  hold  of  the  spirits.    In 
the  valley  of  the   Muluku   glacier  vegetation  had  once 
more  assumed  its  healthy  green  colouring ,  a  little  silver- 
leafed  buttercup  even  ventured  to  peep  out  at  us,  and  a 
tiny  white    flower,    almost    identical    with    the   Swiss 
edelweiss,    concealed   itself  among    the    rocks.     This 
beautiful  little  fertile  spot  seemed  a  special  pet  of  the 
snow  mountains,  for  they  clasped  it  in  their  great  white 
arms  as  if  desiring  that  its  only  life  should  impart  some 
degree  of  warmth  to  their  implacable  nature. 

Ruwenzori  certainly  has  not  leh  one  point  of  its  snows 
unfortified  against  intruders.  Having  taken  possession  of 
the  most  unconscionable  heights,  all  sorts  of  subtle  man- 
traps have  been  laid  up  the  mountain's  sides,  and  even  if 
an  attempt  is  made  to  merely  stand  on  the  threshold  of 
its  domain  an  almost  impassible  rock  barrier  guards  the 
portal,  just  as  the  adventurer  imagines  all  difficulties 
have  been  passed.  But  that  realm  of  ice  allures  one  on 
to  daie  much,  and  so  while  two  ropes  were  thrown  down 
from  above  the  forbidding  rocks,  one  was  hastily  tied 
round  the  body  and  with  the  other  we  slowly  rlimbed 
up  hand  over  hand.  Twice  we  attempted  this  per- 
formance, and  twice  we  succeeded  in  mastering  the  situa- 

195 


J' 


f<  ! 


i> , «.' 


■  '' 

1  ^ 

1  i 

if 

■  li 

1 

i-:;_. 

^^B 

!.    '■■ 

^^H 

! 

^^^H 

'-■ 

On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

tion,  and  then— we  stood  face  to  face  with  one  of 
Ruwenzori's  glaciers.  It  was  in  the  shape  of  a  hug*, 
open  mouth,  and  as  it  slow.^  pushed  its  way  down  into 
the  valley,  the  tongue  collected  the  few  fragments  rubbed 
off  the  rocks  and  taken  up  from  the  soil,  but  the  cave 
itself  was  one  spotless  mass  of  dazzling  white. 

We  had  decided  to  dismiss  any  idea  of  prolonging  our 
stay  at  this  altitude,  realizing  the  terrible  suffering  that 
this  involved  among  the  porters  in  previous  expeditions, 
so,  instead  of  using  any  of  the  precious  time  in  attempt- 
mg  to  reach  a  higher  point,  which  seemed  futile  without 
Alpine  implements,  we  explored  the  Muluku  glacier  cave, 
from  which  flows  that  remarkable  river  that  carries 
its  cool,  life-giving  stream  into  the  scorching  plain  till  it 
loses  itself  in  the  Albert  Edward  Lake. 

Only  one  of  our  personal  boys  had  succeeded  in  facing 
out  the  difficulties  of  the  climb.  While  standing  on  the 
ice  with  us,  he  took  out  from  his  pocket  a  little  tin  pot, 
which  he  filled  with  ice.  He  explained  it  was  a  present 
for  his  wife.  Afterwards,  when  we  had  descended  to 
camp,  he  took  it  out  to  show  the  other  boys,  and, 
although  disgusted  beyond  measure  at  the  trick  nature 
had  played  him,  he  consoled  himself  by  taking  the 
water  to  his  wife  to  explain  to  her  how  it  was  once 
a  stone. 

Scrambling  up  on  to  the  glacier,  we  looked  beyond 
over  miles  and  miles  of  ice  that  for  hundreds  of  years 
God— the  Creator— alone  had  been  beholding.  Although 
we  were  standing  nearly  14,000ft.  above  sea-level,  the 
highest  peak,  that  rose  as  a  white  dome  above  its  com- 
panions, appeared  miles  above  us.  It  was  difficult  to 
judge  of  its  approximate  height,  as  so  many  other  points 
intervened,  but  it  could  not  have  been  much  less  than 

20,OOOft. 

Having  climbed  above  cloud-land,  there  was  nothing 
to  break  the  reflex  in  the  ice  of  the  deep  sapphire  sky,  and 

188 


ii 


'•i 


I  ,i, 


1 

'I- 

:.               < 

K     ■ 

1 

■fci    j:      ^ 

:i^ 

■1  ' 


a 


}      i 


A  CUmb  to  the  Snows 

as  the  sun  poured  down  iti  white  heat,  the  whole  world 
around  glittered  and  sparkled  with  iridescent  hues. 

"  A  step    .    .    .    opened  to  my  view, 
(;iory  beyond  all  glory  ever  teen 
By  waking  lente  or  by  the  dreaming  mniI  I 
The  appearance,  instantaneoiwly  diicloaedi 
Was  oi  a  mighty  city— boldly  say 
A  wildemeu  of  building,  sinking  far 
And  self-withdrawn  mtr^  a  ^oundlest  depth 
Far  sinking  into  splendour— without  end  I 
Fabric  it  s«em«d  of  diamond  and  of  gold, 
With  alabaster  dt    ^:s  and  silver  spires 
And  blazing  terrace  upon  terrace  high 
Uplifted    .    .    Forms  uncouth  of  mightiest  power 
For  admiration  and  mysterious  awe." 


1«7 


E 

1 

' 

1 

CHAPTER  XIX 
Missionary  Work 

MISSIONARY  enterprise  in  Uganda  hai,  been  justly 
described  as  one  of  the  greatest  modern  triumphs 
of  Christianity.    Indeed,  the  record  of  its  work- 
ings read  like  pages  from  the  annals  of  the  infant 
Church  in  Apostolic  days.    But,  whereas  in  'hose  times 
Christianity  had  to  face  the  most  exclusive  and  bigoted 
form  of  belief,  Judaism,  the  highly  developed  intellectual 
power  of  Grecian  learning,  and  tht  shameless  profligacy 
of  civilized  Rome,  in  Uganda  it  has  had  no  force  to  con- 
tend aga-nst  save  barbaric  ignorance  t'  at  could  not  stand 
bcsbre  ihe  advent  of  Truth  ^ad  Righteousness.    After  the 
missionaries  had  been  working  p        ^  ears  in  the  country 
it  occurred  to  them  that  the  most  effectual  way  of  reach- 
ing the  people  was  to  try  and  meet  their  insatiable 
demand  for  instruction  by  instituting  throughout  the 
country  little  synagogues  or  reading  schools,  where  the 
people  could  come  together   '  ily  and  be  taught  to  read 
by  one  who  had  received  s^ne  'raining.     A  little  gradu- 
ated reading  sh»et,  consisting  of  the  alphabet,  syllables, 
wordr,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  a  selection  of  texts,  was  cir- 
culated  by  the  thousand  at  a  charge  of  ten  cowrie  shells 
each.     By  these  means  within  a  comparatively  short 
time  the  land  had  been  sown  with  portions  of  Holy 
Scripture,  which  were  being  eageriy  read  by  the  people, 
who  possessed  no  other  books. 

Certainly  the  success  of  Christianity  in  Uganda  hu 
been  due  to  the  widespread  distribution  of  the  Bibfe 

m 


V 


Missionary  Work 


among  the  people  and  the  remarkable  desire  and  ability 
on  the  part  of  the  Baganda  to  impart  whatever  know- 
ledge they  have  been  able  to  assimilate.     It  has  been 
rightly  said  that  every  country  must  be  evangelized  by  its 
own  people.    Certainly  this  has  been  proved  to  be  so  in 
Uganda.    A  European  pioneer  missionary  is  obliged  to 
travel  with  a  certain  number  of  things,  and,  however 
meagre  they  may  appear  in  his  eyes,  yet  to  these  poor 
Africans  they  represent  great  wealth  and  create  a  dnJ  of 
suspicion.     They  will  gather  round  him  half  timidly  and 
full  of  curiosity,  and  while  he  is  endeavouring  to  deliver 
his  message  to  them,  their  eyes  are  travelling  from  his 
collar  stud  to  his  boots,  then  from  his  bath  to  the  frying- 
pan,  and  all  the  time  they  are  thinking  within  themselves, 
"Wonderful,  wonderful;  the  white  man  is  beyond  our 
understanding  quite !  "      When  they,  at  last,  attempt  to 
listen  and  find  that  he  is  speaking  to  them  in  their  own 
tongue,  and  not  in  English,  in  spite  of  the  slight  foreign 
a;cent,  they  are  absolutely  incredulous,  for  they  cannot 
believe  that  they  and  the  European  can  have  anything  in 
common.    The  European  is  white,  he  has  wisdom — great 
wisdom— he  is  rich,  but  the  African  is  black  and  a  fool, 
and   a   beggar;   the    white    man    worships  one  great, 
wonderful  Spirit,  and  the  black  man  worships  a  spirit — 
only  it  is  an  evil  one.    On  the  other  hand,  if  one  of  the 
native  converts  goes  out  on  pioneer  work,  he  ties  all  his 
possessions  in  a  sleeping  mat,  and  off  he  starts  with  the 
little  bundle  on  his  head.     When  he  reaches  his  destina- 
tion, he  creates  no  suspicion  or  fear,  as  he  unrolls  his 
mat,  shakes  out  his  bark-doth  covering,  and  takes  a  drink 
of  water  from  his  gourd ;  they  see  he  possesses  nothing 
beyond  v^hat  they  themselves  own.     But  as  he  draws  out 
of  a  little  cotton  bag  a  Book,  they  all  gather  round 
to  inspect  the  novelty,  and  he  tells  them  that  the  Book  is 
a  written   voice,  and  the  Otters  stand  for  the  words 
uttered;  he  has  learned  to    read    the    sij»ns,    and    he 

181) 


;iii,  1 


ir  U'l 


On  the  Borders  of  Plsmy  Land 

has  c«me  to  teach  them  to  do  so,  for  it  is  God's  voice 
that  has  spoken  to  them.  Immediately  their  excitement 
is  aroused,  and  the  tuacher  from  that  time  has  found  his 
pupils.  As  there  is  no  house  large  enough  to  hold  them 
all,  they  set  to  work  to  buUd  a  reading  school,  and,  as 
many  coir.««  from  a  distance  and  are  anxious  not  to  arrive 
late  for  the  day's  lessons,  a  big  drum  is  hung  outside  the 
building  and  beaten  every  morning  at  7.0  and  i.o  to  warn 
everybody  that  in  one  hour  reading  will  commence. 
After  a  few  months,  when  the  European  visits  the  station 
on  an  itinerating  to-'r,  he  finds  a  demonstrative  welcome 
awaiting  him.  7ood  is  brought  and  banana  juice  to 
show  their  gratitude  for  the  teacher  having  been  sent. 
Then  their  books  are  produced  in  order  that  the 
European  may  hear  the  great  wisdom  they  have 
learned,  and  others  come  with  questions  about  words 
they  have  read  in  their  Gospels  and  do  not  understand. 
Uganda  to-day  is  calling  out  for  European  missionaries 
more  than  it  ever  was,  not  to  evangelise  the  heathen  but 
to  organise,  train  and  instruct  the  thousands  of  Christian 
men  and  women,  that  they  may  be  capable  of  taking 
their  place  among  the  civilised  nations  of  the  vmtid,  and 
become  a  praise  and  a  glory  in  their  land. 

It  wa?  through  two  young  Baganda  teachers  that 
Christianity  was  first  carried  into  Toro  in  the  year  1895. 
At  that  time  the  country  was  in  a  very  unsettled  state. 
The  King,  Kasagama,  had  not  long  been  established  on  the 
throne,  and  his  chiefs  were  not  too  eager  to  own  alliance 
to  him.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  these  two  evangelists, 
Kasagama  was  falsely  accused  before  the  British  Officer 
in  charge  of  the  Government  Station  there,  and  was 
thrown  into  the  chain  gang.  On  his  release  he  was 
advised  to  go  into  Mengo  to  the  Government  head- 
quarters and  have  his  case  gone  into.  His  stay  there  ran 
into  some  months.  During  that  time  he  was  deeply 
impressed  by  the  change  that  Christianity  had  effect«l  in 

190 


Missionary  Work 


Uganda,  and  attended  the  Church  classes  daily  that  he 
might  receive  instruction.  When  Her  Majesty's  Cona- 
misFioner  had  heard  the  charges  and  exonerated 
Kasagama  he  was  told  to  return  to  his  Kingdom  with 
full  power  ratified  by  the  British  Government.  Before 
leaving  Ug'anda  he  begged  Bishop  Tucker  to  be  allowed  to 
publicly  confess  his  faith  in  Christ  by  Holy  Baptism,  and 
asked  that  a  European  missionary  might  be  sent  to  Toro 
to  help  him  and  his  people  to  increase  in  the  wisdom  of 
God.  Meanwhile  there  was  great  excitement  in  Tore 
when  the  people  heard  that  their  king,  after  such  a  1«-  .g 
absence,  was  coming  back  to  them,  and  they  collected 
together  in  hundreds  at  the  capital  to  welcome  him.  As 
he  mounted  the  hill,  leading  to  his  house,  the  people 
thronged  him,  dancing  and  screaming  with  joy  and 
poured  into  his  v-:ourtyards.  Then,  standing  up  and 
ordering  them  to  remain  quiet,  he  delivered  his  speech  to 
them.  He  told  of  all  the  wonderful  things  he  had  seen 
in  Mengo,  of  his  own  confession  of  Christianity  in  the 
Cathedral,  and  concluded  by  saying  that  he  wished  his 
country  to  go  forward  in  strength  and  wisdom,  and  this 
could  only  be  obtained  from  God,  so  he  called  on  his 
people  to  believe  in  his  God.  to  stand  by  him  faithfully 
in  the  united  desire  for  the  good  of  their  country. 

From  that  day  the  teachers  had  as  muc<  as  they  could 
do  to  ih-.nict  all  those  who  came  forward  to  be  taught; 
and  when  Bishop  7  ucker  arrived  there  the  following  year 
with  Mr.  Fisher,  who  was  to  establish  a  permanent 
station,  he  found  fifteen  men  and  women  ready  for 
baptism. 

Excepting  in  the  case  of  old  people,  everyone  in 
Uganda  desirous  of  being  baptised  must  first  learn  to 
read.  When  they  have  passed  the  standard  required  of 
them  and  are  ready  to  enter  a  baptismal  cla5s,  they  are 
obliged  to  bring  with  them  two  witnesses  or  sponsors  who 
can  vouch  for  the  sincerity  of  their  belief  by  the  outward 

l»l 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

conformity  of  their  lives  to  the  teaching  of  Christianity. 
Then,  for  from  three  to  six  months  instruction  is  given 
them  for  two  hours  four  days  a  week.  At  the  end 
of  this  course  of  teaching  each  candidate  is  carefully 
examined,  and  should  the  result  be  satisfactory  the  name 
is  read  out  twice  in  Church  and  anyone  is  asked  to  bring 
forward  a  reason,  if  such  there  be,  for  keeping  back  the 
candidate  from  baptism.  Thus  every  care  is  taken  to 
test  converts  thoroughly  before  admitting  them  into  this 
sacred  rite. 

Toro  ver}'  soon  sought  to  emulate  the  church  in 
Uganda  in  recognising  its  responsibility  to  those  living  in 
darkness  around,  and  one  year  after  the  founding  of  the 
work  in  the  capital,  young  men  came  forward  and  offered 
themselves  to  be  trained  as  teachers  to  the  distant  villages. 
Apart  from  an  honest  desire  to  enlighten  those  who 
have  not  received  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  there 
is  little  to  tempt  men  to  devote  themselves  to  this  service 
— the  only  payment  they  receive  is  sufficient  unbleached 
calico  with  which  to  clothe  themselves.  The  people  in 
the  villages  who  have  sent  in  the  pressing  request  for  a 
teacher  are  expected  to  build  their  own  "  synagogue,"  as 
well  as  house,  and  feed  the  teacher  sent  to  them.  In  this 
way  the  whole  native  church  organisation  throughout 
the  Protectorate  is  self-supporting.  In  Toro  alone,  seven 
years  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  there  were  no 
less  than  eighty-five  mission  stations  established  through- 
out the  Kingdom,  with  a  staff  of  one  ordained  Muganda 
deacon  and  one  hundred  and  five  paid  men  anc*  womoi 
teachers,  all  supported  entirely  by  the  young  C  iristian 
Church.  Besides  these  there  was  a  strong  band  of 
honorary  workers  who  taught  in  the  capital  on  week> 
days  or  went  out  to  the  near  villages  on  Sundays. 

Once  a  year  there  is  a  "  review  of  the  troops,"  when  all 
the  teachers — regulars,  reservists,  and  volunteers — come 
into  the  capital  for  re-equipment  and  reappointment. 

192 


Missionary  Work 


One  of  these  events  took  place  after  we  had  been  in 
the  country  only  a  few  months,  when  we  were  decidedly 
new  to  the  way  things  were  managed  out  here,  and  still 
retained  a  fair  amount  of  the    provincialism  of  home 
training ;   so  when  a  teachers'  conference  was  announced 
we  conjured  up  in  our  minds    a  kind  of  forthcoming 
Mildmay  or  Keswick  Convention  on  a  small  scale,  but 
the  arrangements  took  a  slightly  different  form.      The 
first  day  opened  with  a  big  feast  to  all  the  workers.    The 
dispensary  was  converted  for  the  day  into  the  banquet- 
ting  hall ;  the  entrance  was  draped    in  gaudy    native 
cloths,  and  the  floors  of  the  two  rooms  were  carpeted 
with  banana  leaves.      The  men  were  allocated  to  one 
room  and  the  women  to  the  other.      I  mg  before  the 
hour  of  the  feast  the  guests  had    arrived    and    packed 
themselves  as  closely  together  as  was  possible  in  circles 
of  seven  or  eight,  the  King  and  his  chiefs  forming  one  of 
the  groups.    An  ox  had  been  killed  for  the  feast  ;   it  was 
boiled  in  banana  leaves  and  served  up  with  quantities  of 
unsweetened,   cooked  bananas.    Prodigious  piles    were 
placed  in  the  centre  of  each  circle  of  guests,  and  then 
business  began  !    Off  came  their  top  draperies  or  coats, 
and  with  bare  arms  all  eagerly  outstretched  towards  the 
food  they  dived  into  their  food  with  astonishing  rapidity 
and  energy.       ihe  banana  mash  was  rolled  round  the 
fingers  into  balls  and  stuffed  down  their  throats  without 
any  regard  being  given  to  mastication.      The  King  and 
chiefs  seemed  to  momentarily  forget  their  dignity,  and 
ate  till  the  perspiration  rolled  down  their  faces.    Tea 
was  served  round  in  kettles ;   every  available  cup,  mug, 
basin  and  jug  on  the  station  had  been  collected  together 
for  the  use  of  the  guests — and  the  two-quarts  jugs  were 
far  more  popular  than  afternoon  tea  cups. 

With  no  small  compunction  I  submitted  myself  to  the 
native  custom  and  joined  in  the  feast.  After  a  series  of 
band  ablutions  I  sat  on  the  floor  next  to  the  King's 

193  o 


J*;     ,  1 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

mother,  who  picked  some  of  the  choicest  bits  of  meat  off 
a  bone  and  set  them  before  me.  It  was  such  an  effoct 
for  3.0  p.m.  in  the  tropics,  and  visions  of  Mildmajr*! 
shilling  tea  tent,  with  its  ices  and  strawberries,  made  tt 
least  the  first  stage  of  the  Conference  appear  very 
different. 

The  King's  band,  with  its  medley  of  instruments,  round 
drums,  cylindrical  drums,  squat  drums,  horns,  and  reed 
pipes  decorated  with  monkey  tails,  performed  boisterous 
symphonies  outside.  But  when,  after  the  feast,  the 
people  were  for  the  first  time  introduced  to  the  phono> 
graph,  the  Toro  band  stood  still  in  astonishment,  and  m 
an  English  orchestral  band  roared  out  "  Soldiers  of  the 
Queen"  it  felt  quite  eclipsed  and  could  only  exclaim 
"  Ekyamahano,  ekyamahano  "  (marvellous,  truly  marvel- 
lous). 

The  following  day  the  real  Convention  started,  nd 
was  continued  over  three  days.  The  mornings  were 
entirely  given  over  to  devotional  meetings,  'and  in  the 
afternoons  th  ^  workers  were  asked  to  bring  forward  diffi* 
culties  met  wuti  in  their  work,  and  discussions  were 
invited  as  to  what  more  effectual  measures  could  be 
employed  in  organisation  and  in  strengthening  of  the 
various  mission  stations.  Throughout  all  the  meetings  a 
deep  and  earnest  interest  was  evinced  by  the  teachers. 
It  was  most  encouraging  to  watch  the  enthusiasm 
gradually  growing  and  to  hear  the  young  teachers  talk  of 
their  work  and  their  peculiar  difficulties  relating  to  the 
subject  treated. 

A  specially  impressive  service  was  held  when  all  the 
workers  gathered  in  from  near  and  far  distant  heathen 
districts  met  together  at  Holy  Communion. 

Before  returning  to  their  spheres  of  service  a  large 
missionary  meeting  was  held  in  the  church,  at  which 
most  stirring  accounts  were  given  of  the  victories  against 
the  powers  of  darkness.    At  the  close,  a  collection  was 

194 


^jgg 


Missionary  Work 

taken  up.  For  this  a  large  packing  case  was  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  chancel  to  receive  the  larger  contribu- 
tions and  a  row  of  baskets  for  the  smaller  offerings.  Then 
the  people  came  up  in  single  file  to  place  in  their  gifts ; 
one  brought  a  tusk  of  ivory,  another  a  huge  bundle  of 
bananas,  others  beans,  potatoes,  and  sugar  cane,  the 
Queen  forty  yards  of  fine  white  linen,  others  chickens, 
and  finally  a  goat  was  brought  up  and  tied  to  the  pillar. 
One  little  boy,  carried  away  by  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  put  his  little  fez  cap  into  the  basket,  and  as 
this  was  only  a  loan  it  had  to  be  redeemed  afterwards. 

The  sight  was  very  remarkable.  It  was  as  if  one  had 
been  taken  back  to  the  Court  of  the  Tabernacle  at  the  Feast 
of  First  fruits.  The  similarity  of  these  people's  lives  with 
those  of  Old  and  New  Testament  history  is  so  strong 
that  it  is  diflicult  to  convey  to  the  native  mind  the  idea 
of  distance  in  time,  and  often  one  is  asked  if  Joseph,  the 
son  of  Jacob,  was  the  husband  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  if 
Paul  before  his  conversion  was  the  first  King  of 
Israel. 

The  Toro  Church  has  now  reached  its  sifting  time. 
The  excitement  and  rash  enthusiasm  of  infancy  have 
matured  into  the  more  evenly  balanced  judgment  of  man- 
hood. Its  disciples  are  learning  to  weigh  the  demands  of 
its  tenets,  its  refusal  to  compromise  with  sin  and  with 
almost  everything  that  has  constituted  their  existence  for 
centuries  past,  and  its  call  for  constant  activity  of  heart 
and  hand  as  opposed  to  the  intolerable  indolence  of  their 
nature.  All  these  things  must  constantly  be  borne  in 
mind  by  the  missionary  if  he  is  not  to  be  unnecessarily 
depressed  by  occasional  failure  on  the  part  of  the  con- 
verts. One  roust  not  look  for  impossibilities,  and  the 
growth  of  past  centuries  cannot  be  destroyed  in  a  day. 
1  am  not  sure  but  that  too  much  is  expected  of  the  young 
teachers.  For  instance  one  goes  out  to  the  villages  when 
only  quite  a  youth  with  a  hereditary  taint,  many  generations 

196 


■I- !  . 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

old,  of  the  worst  formi  of  heathenitm  as  against  two  or 
three  years  of  religious  instruction.  He  is  the  onfy 
Christian  in  the  village,  and,  indeed,  for  miles  round ;  and 
there  he  is  surrounded  by  the  old  heathen  practices  and 
constantly  tempted  to  return  to  habits  of  the  past,  wdiils 
he  has  not  the  same  normal  amount  of  moral  and  intd* 
lectual  strength  which  nerves  an  English  lad  to  fight 
against  these  external  influences  and  internal  tendencies. 
And  yet  only  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  them  really 
fail. 

King  Daudi  Kasagama  once  said  that  the  white  nan 
could  never  understand  how  fierce  was  the  black  man's 
conflict  with  himself  at  times.  The  one  has  generations 
of  civilization  and  Christianity  as  a  rear-guard,  and  the 
other,  centuries  of  corruption  and  self-indulgence.  With* 
out  trust  in  a  Divine  keeping  power,  said  he,  one  would 
inevitably  fall.  Ten  years  have  now  passed  by  since  the 
Baganda  teachers  left  for  heathen  Toro,  and  in  that  time 
the  character  of  almost  the  entire  country  has  been  prac* 
tically  transformed.  British  jurisdiction  has  established 
peace  throughout  the  Kingdom,  and  now  that  an  end  has 
been  put  to  tribal  and  civil  warfare,  there  is  nothing  to 
distract  the  mind  of  the  people  from  settling  down  and 
learning  to  improve  their  land. 

In  the  districts  that  have  come  under  the  influence  of 
Christianity,  heathenism  has  been  abolished,  if  not  abso- 
lutely at  least  in  the  outward  form  of  practice.  Over 
three  thousand  converts  have  been  baptized,  and  although 
this  only  represents  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants,  it  includes  mainly  the  more  influential  and 
leading  body  of  men. 

The  desire  of  the  Batoro  for  teaching  and  their  love  of 
reading  promise  much  for  the  future  of  the  country  if  this 
can  be  satisfactorily  coped  with  immediately  and  not 
starved  by  inability  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries  to  meet 
the  need.    It  certainly  cannot  be  said  of  Uganda  and 

196 


Missionary  Work 


Toro  "  of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end."    The 
Baganda  are,  I  believe,  limited  to  ten  books,  namely : — 

Holy  Bible.  Oxford  Bible  Help*.  "Pilgrim'i  Progreu." 

Prayer  Book  "  Search  and  Find."  "  Kings  of  Uganda." 

Hymn  Book.  Geography  Book.  English  Primer. 

Commentaries  on  three  Gospels. 

Those  of  the  Batoro  who  do  not  understand  Luganda 
and  so  are  confined  to  books  written  in  their  own 
language,  only  possess  the  New  Testament,  Prayer  Book, 
with  Psalms  and  Hymn  Book.  Through  the  generous 
aid  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  the 
Religious  Tract  Society,  and  the  S.P.C.K.,  which  have 
provided  the  country  with  almost  the  whole  of  its 
literature,  these  books  have  been  supplied  at  a  cost  price, 
much  under  their  cost  of  production  and  carriage,  so  as 
to  bring  them  within  the  possible  reach  of  the  people, 
who,  as  a  whole,  are  exceedingly  poor. 

But  even  so,  it  is  generally  necessary,  in  the  villages 
especially,  for  the  people  to  make  real  efforts  to  supply 
themselves  with  books  they  require.  A  curious  scene 
was  enacted  in  the  courtyard  of  our  house  when  the 
teachers  came  in  from  their  stations  on  the  first  Monday  in 
every  month  to  execute  the  orders  for  books  or  stationery 
entrusted  to  them  by  their  people.  Our  yard  was 
temporarily  converted  into  a  live-stock  market,  for  the 
purchases  were  rarely  made  with  cash.  The  most  popular 
currency  was  cowrie  shells,  which  were  tied  up  in 
bundles  by  means  of  dried  banana  bark,  but  when  these 
were  beyond  the  means  of  the  would-be  purchaser,  he 
would  send  in  by  his  teacher  a  goat,  or  chickens,  or  eggs. 
A  curious  shaped  till  was  needed  by  the  sale'.man  !  One 
of  his  orders  would  be  for  "  One  chicken,  Matthew," 
which  being  interpreted  was  "One  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew,  price  one  chicken." 

Another  man,  after  purchasing  a  hymn  book  for  six 
eggs,  would  ask  if  he  had  enough  eggs  over  to  buy 

197 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

Bunyan.  It  frequently  hnnpened  hat  a  lad  had  beea 
carefully  collecting  the  eg^^  ^'-n,  his  one  hen  for  weeb. 
but  as  the  ben  had  not  been  very  ohtiging  by  the  time 
the  riK'ht  number  was  reached,  the  salesman  was  distinctly 
out  of  profit  through  his  rustom'^r. 

Others,  who  possessed  nothing  saleable,  came  in  from 
distances  of  ten  to  fifteen  miles  and  asked  to  be  ..red  for 
work  dunng  the  day,  in  the  late  afternoon  they  would  set 
off  on  their  journey  home  tae  proud  owners  of  the  little 
hymn  book  or  reading  sheet  which  had  been  thoroughly 
earned.  ' 

At  the  close  of  one  of  the  terms  of  the  teachers'  pre- 
paration class,  prizes  were  to  be  given  for  the  best 
answers  at  their  examination,  and  the  first  prize  was  to 
be  the  option  of  four  yards  of  calico  or  a  Bible.  The 
one  who  on  this  particular  occasion  stood  out  pre- 
emmently  first  was  a  peasant  youth  of  about  eighteen 
years  of  age  with  exceptionally  well-formed  and  forcefiil 
features.  His  dress  consisted  of  a  coarse  piece  of  the 
barkcloth  knotted  on  the  shoulder :  having  com.-  from  a 
distant  district  he  had  never  known  the  luxury  of  the 
calico  garments  worn  by  the  more  fortunate  town  folk. 
As  he  came  forward  to  receive  his  prize,  the  choice 
between  the  calico  and  the  Bible  was  given  him.  For  a 
while  he  stood  handling  the  material,  then  looked  down 
at  his  own  shabby  garment ;  but  it  was  only  a  momentary 
hesitation— laying  aside  the  calico,  he  took  up  the  Bible 
and  clasping  it  with  both  hands,  said  "  My  master,  the 
Bible  has  got  the  better  of  the  cloth." 


»»    <; 


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CHAPTER    XX 

Medical  Work 


REALISING  that  the  acquisition  of  the  language 
would  be  slow  work,  with  no  books  to  study,  and 
only  five  hours  teaching  *>.  week,  I  had  decided  on 
arriving  in  Toro  to  plunge  into  work  right  away.  It 
was  not  a  case  of  going  out  in  search  of  work,  for  outside 
one's  very  door  was  the  mute  call  for  help.  When  the 
tidings  of  our  arrival  had  filtered  through  to  the  villages, 
sick  folk  came  from  every  direction  to  see  if  the  white 
women  had  brought  medicine.  In  our  courtyard  each 
morning  there  was  quite  a  large  company  of  maimed,  halt 
and  blind,  who  had  hobbled  along,  or  been  brought  in, 
some  from  very  long  distances,  by  their  friends.  The  very 
prevalent  forms  of  skin  diseases,  ulcers,  and  the  hacking 
cough  required  no  language  even  for  diagnosis  by  an 
amateur  dispenser ;  other  patients,  by  eloquent  grunts  and 
gesticulations,  managed  to  convey  some  idea  of  their 
complaints;  and  the  remaining  class,  whose  language  and 
sickness  were  conundrums  to  the  European  "quack," 
received  a  mild  dose  of  nauseous  physic;  certainly  it 
did  them  no  harm,  and  in  some  cases  their  faith  in  that 
dose  of  "  white  man's  medicine  "  worked  the  cure. 

At  first  I  used  to  receive  the  sick  folk  on  our  verandah, 
but  they  became  too  numerous,  so  a  removal  was 
effected.  The  first  house  of  the  European  missionary  in 
Toro  was  still  standing,  but  was  quite  uninhabitable,  as 
it  had  been  made  of  reeds  which  rot  very  quickly.  It 
stood  in  a  very  forest  of  weeds.    The  long  elephant  grass 

199 


MICROCOPY   RESOIUTION   TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


12.8 
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2.0 
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1^. 


i^ 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

barred  all  the  windows  and  doors  against  would-be 
intruders,  snakes  suspiciously  lay  hidden  among  the 
thick  tangled  undergrowth,  and  a  few  half-choked 
flowers  struggled  to  exist  as  a  witness  to  a  past  cared-for 
garden  and  in  protest  against  their  present  usurpers. 

A  few  days  of  bard  work  with  hoe  and  shovel  cleared 

a  breathing  space  ail  round  the  house,  the  ceilings  and 

walls  were  swept  down  and  repaired,  new  beaten  mud 

floors  laid  in  all  the  three  rooms,  shelves  and  boxes  fixed 

up  as  fittings,  a  rough  table,  chair,  enamel  wash-hand 

basin  brought  in  as  furniture,  and  there  was  i  splendid 

dispensary  quite  formidable  in  appearance  and  decidedly 

pretentious    for    one    who    possessed    no   qualifications 

beyond  a  few   months    hospital    training.      In    Africa 

a  little  knowledge  is  not  dangerous  so  much  as  useful. 

The  most  appalling  forms  of  suffering  are  met  with  on 

every  hand,  and  nothing  but  inhuman,  superstitious,  and 

absolutely  ineffectual  means  are  employed  to  alleviate  it, 

Even  if  one  can  only  cleanse  and  bind  up  the  wounds 

and  pour  in  oil,  the  look  of  gratitude  and  contentment 

that  reward  the  soothing  of  the  pain  reminds  one  that  it 

has  not  been  wasted  labour. 

This  first  dispensary  consisted  of  three  apartments,  the 
"  consulting  room,"  drug  store,  and  waiting  room,  where 
patients  assembled  every  morning  at  8.30  for  instruction 
in  reading  and  a  short  bright    gospel  service.     This 
primitive  medical  work  was  a  distinctly  effectual  means  of 
reaching  the  bakopi   (peasants),  who  had  not  hitherto 
been  touched  in  any  large  numbers.    The  King  having 
been  the  first  in  the  country  to  adopt  Christianity,  ^he 
work  in  its  initial  stage  had  extended  almost  exclusively 
to  the  upper  classes,  while  the  "  foreign  "  language  had 
been  an  obstacle  to  the  peasants  who  could  not  under- 
stand it. 

It  was  frequently  found  that  the  curiosity  and  interest 
ot  patients  in  the  letters  and  syllables  were  so  awakened 

200 


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that  when  there  was  no  longer  need  to  attend  the 
dispensary  several  passed  on  to  the  school  to  be  further 
instructed. 

One  of  the  first  patients  was  an  old  man  who  had  been 
receiving  ulcer  medicine  from  the  missionary  then  in 
charge.  Although  his  hair  was  sprinkled  with  grey,  and 
he  suffered  from  an  impediment  in  his  speech,  nothing 
would  daunt  him  in  his  assiduous  stru<;gles  to  master  the 
alphabet.  Day  after  day  he  en  me,  and  even  when  cured 
of  his  ulcer  continued  coming,  as  he  was  afraid  to  go  to 
the  big  school  to  learn.  Actually  he  did  in  time  master 
words  of  three  letters,  and  then,  as  he  was  so  anxious  to 
be  baptized,  he  was  put  into  an  old  men's  daily  Bible  Class 
for  instruction.  His  joy  was  beyond  description  when 
with  tears  streaming  down  from  his  eyes  he  came  to  me 
one  day  saying,  "  My  mistress,  I  have  finished  being 
questioned,  and  now  I  am  going  to  be  baptized."  I  asked 
him,  "  Mpisi,  will  baptism  save  us  ?  "  And  he  answered, 
"Oh  no,  only  Jesus  who  died  for  us  on  the  Cross." 
"  Then  what  is  the  use  of  baptism  ?  "  "  Well,"  said  he, 
"  Christ  told  us  to  believe  and  be  baptized,  and  it  shows 
that  we  want  to  leave  our  bad  habits  and  follow  the  habits 
of  Christ."  From  that  day  he  has  rarely  missed  coming 
to  the  dispensary,  not  always  for  medicine,  but  that  he 
might  teach  the  patients  what  he  has  learned. 

A  daily  attendance  of  thirty  to  fifty  sick  folk  soon 
exhausted  our  limited  supply  of  drugs,  and  when  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  Cook,  on  an  itinerating  round,  paid  a  medical 
visit  to  Toro  twelve  months  after  our  arrival  they  found 
the  medicine  almost  completely  used  up.  Till  the 
arrival  of  fresh  stores  the  patients  were  being  kept 
together  by  supplementing  the  diminished  stock  with 
table  salt,  mixed  spice,  and  curry  powder.  This  latter  I 
found  was  a  much-appreciated  prescription,  and  as  none 
of  the  missionaries  were  partial  to  it  and  each  had  a  good 
supply  among  their  stores,  I  dispensed  it  generously  to 

201 


1^ 


1 


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A       !' 


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On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

dyspeptic  patients.  You  never  saw  such  agonizing 
grimaces  as  when  they  swallowed  a  spoonful  raw,  but 
they  smacked  their  lips,  saying,  "  Omubazi  mubingi  muno 
muno,"  "  Medicine  very  very  good,"  and  would  have 
finished  off  the  whole  tin  if  they  had  been  allowed. 

That  visit  from  the  real  "  medicine-man  "  was  a  grand 
time  for  our  people,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  show  their 
appreciation  and  wonderment  when  opthalmic  patients 
found  themselves  with  "new  windows,"  and  surgical 
subjects,  the  possessors  of  "  new  bodies."  After  that  the 
Toro  dispensary  became  amalgamated  with  tne  Mengo 
Medical  Mission,  and  was  regularly  supplied  with 
medicines.  The  chief  diseases  met  with  out  there  are 
skin  complaints,  malaria,  dyspepsia,  pleurisy,  bronchitis, 
besides  paralysis,  muscular  rheumatism,  dysentery,  and 
pneumonia.  Owing  to  the  inexperience  of  the  dispenser 
nothing  surgical  was  attempted  in  those  days  beyond 
lancing  abscesses  and  gums,  cutting  tongue-tied  infants, 
and  stitching  up  leopard-torn  patients.  One  man  was 
brought  in  from  a  leopard  hunt  in  a  terrible  condition  ; 
limbs  and  body  were  badly  damaged,  while  the  face  was 
scarcely  visible,  the  flesh  of  forehead  and  one  cheek  having 
been  torn  away,  exposing  bone  and  teeth.  The  extra- 
ordinary thing  was,  that  after  weeks  and  weeks  of  careful 
treatment,  some  very  deep  scars  were  the  only  signs 
remaining  of  the  terrible  ordeal  he  had  passed  through. 

These  Batoro  have  grown  absolutely  reckless  in  the 
hunt.  Their  method  is  to  surround  the  spot  where  the 
leopard  is  known  to  lie  crouched,  and  slashing  down  the 
thick  vegetation  that  conceals  their  prey,  they  gradually 
draw  closer  and  form  a  smaller  circle  round  it.  All  the 
time  they  scream  and  pour  down  invectives  on  the  head 
of  the  leopard,  and  by  the  time  it  actually  appears  in 
sight  they  have  worked  themselves  up  into  such  a  state 
of  excitement  that,  losing  all  self-control,  some  will 
actually  throw  themselves  upon  the  infuriated  creature. 

202 


Medical  Work 


W"lh  one  last  death  effort  the  leopard  throws  all  the 
strength  of  its  fury  into  its  final  attack ;  torn,  and  perhaps 
with  mangled  limb,  the  man  is  released  from  the  grasp  of 
his  foe  by  a  hundred  spears  being  run  through  its  body. 
The  injured  are  then  borne  on  stretchers  in  triumph  to  the 
dispensary,  and  while  the  woi't?  •  are  being  attended  to, 
the  carriers  and  friends  laud  the  extraordinary  prowess  of 
the  patient.  Every  man  who  is  able  to  carry  home  a 
blood-stained  spear  is  sure  of  his  wife  killing  the  fattest 
goat  or  cooking  the  best  possible  meal  in  their  honour. 

One  day,  while  dispensing  medicine,  an  unusual 
shuffling  and  pushing  reemed  to  be  going  on  in  the 
doorway,  and  walking  round  to  find  out  the  cause,  I 
saw  a  cow  being  pushed  by  force  toward  me.  The 
herdsman  explained  that  it  was  very  sick  with  "  Kifuba  " 
(chest — generally  meaning  indigestion).  In  order  to 
quickly  get  rid  of  this  undesirable  patient  I  mixed  up 
some  castor  oil  with  salt  and  ordered  it  to  be  administered 
in  one  hour's  time.  I  thought  that  would  allow  the  cow 
and  its  master  to  get  a  safe  distance  off. 

I  rather  regretted  this  afterwards,  for  very  soon  another 
veterinary  case  was  brought  in  for  treatment.  This  time 
it  was  our  own  faithful  Muscat  donkey ;  it  was  suffering 
terribly  from  the  plague  of  flies  that  generally  appear  in 
the  dry  season.  The  poor  creature's  legs  were  absolutely 
raw,  and  it  had  almost  lost  the  power  of  standing.  After 
the  donkey  boy  had  applied  antiseptic  washing  and 
ointment  I  tried  to  fix  on  bandages,  but  donkey's  legs 
were  evidently  never  made  the  right  shape  for  that — I 
could  not  get  the  bandages  to  stick.  Mr.  Fisher  was  then 
consulted  on  the  point,  and  of  course,  man-like,  he 
suggested  trousers.  It  really  sounded  very  suitable,  so  I 
set  to  work  on  a  pair,  and  when  the  donkey  was  put  into 
them  he  looked  most  distinguished.  The  peoplo  gathered 
round  in  numbeis  to  see  it,  and  exclaimed,  "What 
honour  the  European  gives  his  animal!"    There  were 

203 


n^  1  n 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

several  spectators  who  were  not  clothed  so  magnificently, 
and  being  afraid  of  giving  the  impression  of  extravagant 
waste,  I  explained  to  them  the  object  of  the  garment 
and  our  ideas  of  kindness  to  dumb  animals.  The 
donkey  did  not  take  at  all  kindly  to  his  first  pair  of 
trousers ;  perhaps  they  did  not  fit  well ;  at  all  events, 
he  kicked  them  to  pieces  in  two  days.  A  second  pair  was 
made  on  a  modified  scale,  and  whether  or  not  the  owner 
had  cultivated  more  civilised  instincts,  it  is  not  easy  to 
aflirm,  but  they  remained  intact  till  they  were  no  longer 
needed,  and  the  owner  was  able  to  run  about  and  be  up 
to  his  usual  pranks  again. 

Great  care  has  to  be  exercised  in  administering  drugs, 
as  the  people  have  absolutely  no  idea  as  to  how  they  act 
on   the   system.      Medicine  intended  to  last  for  some 
days  has  often  been  swallowed  down  in  one  dose,  as 
they  argue  that  if  so  much  physic  can  cure  them  at 
all,  the  sooner   it   is  taken  the   better.      Powders  for 
internal  use  have  been  received  with  incredulity  an-' 
sometimes  scorn  by  those  suffering  from  skin  diseases, 
and  they  will  insist  on  impressing  the  dispenser  that  they 
are  quite  well  inside.    If,  with  all  their  persuasion,  they 
cannot  obtain  some  blue  stone  to  apply  to  the  sore  (which 
they  simply  love,  as  it  causes  them  to  scn^am  uncontroll- 
ably), then  they  go  off  with  their  packet  of  powders  and 
show  the  superiority  of  their  wisdom  to  that  of  the  white 
doctor  by  using  it  externally. 

One  of  the  very  few  medicines  that  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  under  lock  and  key  is  sulphur,  which  is 
well  known  to  them  as  an  unfailing  skin  remedy  when 
mixed  up  with  butter.  Our  cook  once  bribed  one  of  my 
little  assistants  to  smuggle  some  away  for  him,  and  being 
misled  by  the  similarity  in  appearance,  the  lad  gave 
him  iodiform  instead.  This  he  mixed  up  into  an  oint- 
ment and  smeared  well  all  over  his  body.  As  he  sent  up 
dinner  that  evening  iodiform  was  as  pronounced  as  oil  is 

204 


Medical  Work 


in  a  German  table  d'hote.  It  was  soup  k  riodiforra, 
viande  d  Tiodiform,  confection  k  riodiform,  caft  k 
riodiform,  in  fact  there  was  no  getting  away  from  it. 
When  we  left  the  table  in  despair  we  were  like  a 
chemist's  laboratory. 

>s  for  ideas  of  h-giene,  these  are  absolutely  absent  from 
the  native's  mind.  When  a  person  is  very  ill,  regardless  of 
her  station  in  life,  she  is  carried  into  the  dirtiest  and 
smallest  hut.  This  is  soon  crowded  up  with  v/ell-meaning 
and  sympathetic  friends,  whose  one  idea  of  condolence 
seems  to  be  to  assure  the  invalid  that  she  is  on  the  point 
of  dying.  The  hut  continues  filling  up  till  the  only  inlei 
for  fresh  air  (the  cramped  doorway)  is  entirely  blocked 
up,  by  which  time  the  condition  and  atmosphere  of  the 
hut  becomes  so  iui  escribabl.  that  it  is  a  wonder  anyone 
comes  out  alive.  These  things  suggested  to  my  mind 
that  a  few  elementary  lessons  on  hygiene  might  perhaps 
prove  beneficial,  so,  taking  to  my  afternoon  class  a 
diagram  of  the  human  body,  I  described  to  them  the 
anatomy  of  the  body,  blood  circulation,  &c.  Their  interest 
and  surprise  were  great.  They  had  always  imagined 
that  blood  circulated  from  the  head.  This  was  their 
argument  for  cutting  their  heads  in  cases  of  fever ;  they 
reasoned  that  malaria  was  an  over-heating  of  superfluous 
amount  of  blood,  so  they  must  let  out  some.  At  first  they 
were  incline^?  to  doubt  the  soundness  of  the  new  theory  of 
circulation  from  the  heart,  and  asked  "  can  a  river  flow 
up,  does  it  not  always  flow  down  ?  "  "  What  about  a 
spring  ? "  said  I.  They  thought  for  one  moment,  and  then 
answered  "  Tlie  European's  wisdom  has  overcome  ours." 
Then  a  new  difficulty  struck  them,  how  was  it  in  the  case 
of  women,  for  they  had  no  hearts.  Their  old  King 
Kabarega,  when  he  killed  off  his  wives,  had  cut  open 
some,  and  never  found  one  with  a  heart.  So  the  state- 
ment had  become  an  accepted  fact  with  them.  How 
could  they  have  believed  such  an  error ! 

205 


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On  the  BorderF   ^*  Pigmy  Land 

They  also  imagined  that  mind  was  tucked  away  in  the 
heart,  and  did  not  in  the  least  associate  brain  with  intel- 
lect. Poor  woman,  minus  heart,  therefore  minus  mind, 
was  very  poorly  endowed. 

Their  attention  and  interest  were  very  keen,  and  did 
not  seem  to  diminish  when  the  moral  was  applied  in 
the  shape  of  ablutions,  fresh  air,  and  the  care  of  the  body 
being  essentials  to  health. 

It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  arrive  at  an  exact  diagnosis 
of  a  patient's  ailment.  One  will  describe  her  complaint, 
pointing  to  her  lungs,  as  a  voice  inside  that  says  "  Chew, 
chew."  Another  affirm  that  a  spear  is  running  into  every 
part  of  his  body.  Infants  are  always  suffering  from  evil 
spirits  or  poisoning,  in  cases  when  a  dose  of  dill  water 
would  be  generally  prescribed. 

Although  I  have  occasionally  met  with  a  native  doctor 
in  a  sick  house,  I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  a 
native  drug  or  remedy  outside  cupping,  branding,  and 
revolting  forms  of  witchcraft.  These  men  make  a 
regular  study  of  the  art  of  deception  and  exact 
exorbitant  fees  in  the  form  of  goats  or  even  oxen.  As 
an  example  let  me  give  the  case  of  a  lad  who  was  suffer- 
ing from  tuberculosis.  He  had  consulted  the  witch  doctor, 
and  after  having  paid  his  fee  was  told  that  he  had  been 
poisoned.  Whereupon  the  "  surgeon "  drew  his  knife 
out  from  his  belt  and  made  a  number  of  small  incisions. 
He  then  declared  he  could  see  the  poison  inside  the 
youth  and  took  it  away.  But  the  lad  was  not  cured  and 
so  came  down  to  give  the  European's  wisdom  a  trial. 

This  ignorant  credulity  of  the  people  has  sometimes 
proved  useful  to  the  white  man  in  times  of  extremity.  In 
one  instance  a  European  noticed  that  his  daily  supply  of 
milk  was  continually  disappearing  in  an  unaccountable 
way,  and  one  day  he  determined  to  investigate  the  cause. 
It  had  been  proved  that  the  cows  were  not  to  blame  ;  they 
had  given  their  usual  supply.    The  milk  boy  was  cleared, 

206 


i|i' 


Medical  Work 


for  the  boys  of  the  household  vouched  for  having  seen  it 
being  delivered.  The  discrepancy  in  the  amount  had 
unmistakably  occurred  in  the  cook  house,  where  the  cook 
alone  was  resident  at  the  time.  So  the  culprit  was  called 
up  to  be  examined.  He  insisted  on  his  innocence 
declaring  all  the  while  that  he  did  not  know  how 
to  drink  milk.  As  no  eye-witnesses  could  be  called  the 
idea  struck  the  "  magistrate  "  that  he  would  conclude  the 
matter  quickly  and  unquestionably  by  their  own  means. 
Turning  to  a  youth  close  by  he  said  "Just  fetch  me  my 
little  pocket  knife  to  bore  a  hole  and  see  if  the  milk  is 
inside  the  cook."  Whereupon  the  culprit  fell  on  his 
knees  exclaiming,  "Oh,  master,  I  did  drink  the  milk. 
Forgive  me,  I  pray  you." 

After  the  affiliation  of  the  Toro  branch  with  the 
medical  headquarters  at  Mengo,  the  work  was  placed  on 
a  far  more  satisfactory  basis.  A  report  had  to  be  sent  in 
every  three  months  with  statistics  dealing  with  daily 
attendance  at  the  dispensary,  out-patients'  visits,  etc. 
Then,  in  addition  to  this,  a  list  was  made  out  yearly  of 
drugs  and  dressings  needed  for  the  forthcoming  twelve 
months,  which  ensured  an  adequate  and  regular  supply 
of  medicine.  The  work,  however,  passed  through  a 
varied  succession  of  small  vicissitudes.  Our  faked-up 
building  had  to  be  pulled  down,  as  the  site  was  needed 
for  a  new  missionary's  house,  but  in  exchange  we  got  a 
brand-new  airy  dispensary.  We  scarcely  knew  ourselves 
with  such  spacious  surroundings,  and  the  two  little  native 
assistants,  who  had  been  trained  to  attend  to  all  dressings, 
assumed  quite  a  ridiculous  air  of  professional  importance, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  feelings  of  the  quack  doctor  1  But 
at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  we  were  completely  evicted  from 
our  grand  premises — patients,  staff,  drugs,  and  all.  A 
violent  storm  had  destroyed  the  only  house  that  had  been 
standing  ready  to  receive  a  fresh  addition  to  the  staff  of 
missionaries,  which  was  then  only  within  a  few  days  of 

207 


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Wr- 


1 1  In 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

arrival  in  Toro.  As  there  was  not  another  available 
inch,  the  new  dispensary  had  to  be  speedily  converted 
into  a  domicile. 

Feeling  decidedly  crest-fallen,  my  little  assistants  and  I 
packed  up  all  the  medical  impedimenta  and  carried  them 
over  to  a  little  reed  building  that  had  been  the  ading 
school  till  the  constantly  increasing  inside  pack  had 
necessitated  more  ceremonious  premises. 

We  completed  our  removal,  and  had  not  been  installed 
many  weeks  when  a  furious  hurricance  swept  over  the 
little  hill  capital,  and  succeedircj  in  thriving  our  new 
dispensary  completely  over  on  its  side.    When  the  debris 
and  roof  were    cleared  away,    a    most    heterogeneous 
collection    of  medicines  were  revealed,    all    hopelessly 
mixed  up  in  wild  confusion.      Pills  of  every  shape  and 
form  were  scattered  about,  bottles  of  liquid  drugs,  and 
stock  mixtures  had  been  smashed  up,  and  the  combination 
of  odours  was  enough  to  frighten  away  all  the  microbes 
for  miles  round.     Once  more,  and  for  the  fourth  time, 
the  dispensary  was  transferred  to  different  quarters,  and 
there  it  remained  uitil  the  present  complete    medical 
compound  was  erected  at  the  advent  of  the  much-longed- 
for  and  long-expected    doctor  in  1904.      Through    the 
generosity  of  a  friend  in  England  the  "  Gurney  Hospital" 
and  new  dispensary  were  then  built,  together  with  the 
doctor's  house.      The  former  is  a  good-si^ed  building 
consisting  of  two  wards  for  thirty-four  patients,  besides 
consulting  and  waiting  rooms,  while  the  broad  ten-foot 
verandah  which  runs  all  round  allows  ample  space  for 
convalescents. 

At  first  the  Batoro  were  inclined  to  be  fearful  of  under- 
going chloroform,  but  King  Kasagama,  half  out  of 
curiosity  and  half  out  of  a  eal  desire  that  his  people 
should  derive  the  fullest  benefit  from  the  "doctor's 
wisdr  Ti,"  successfully  banished  these  fears.  One  morning 
he  came  down  to  the  dispensary  asking  that  a  slight  ulcer 

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Medical  Work 

from  which  he  was  saffering  might  be  lanced  onder 
chlorofonn.  This  was  kept  a  profound  secret  from  his 
people  till  't  happened  to  reach  the  ears  of  his  mother 
just  as  he  was  getting  over  the  operation.  The  poor  old 
lady  came  bustling  down  in  breathless  speed  very  fearful 
of  the  effects  *'-  "sleeping  medicine"  might  have  had 
on  her  son.  was  intensely  relieved  to  find  that 

nothing  worse  had  resulted  than  rather  a  sorry  expression 
on  the  usual  smiling  countenance  of  the  patient.  It  soon 
became  the  topic  of  the  houi,  and  even  to  the  distant 
villages  the  news  spread.  From  that  time  surgery  was 
in  great  demand  ;  in  fact  it  became  a  kind  of  fashionable 
epidemic. 

The  need  for  medical  work  in  these  parts  is  seen  in 
the  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  out-patients 
that  came  up  every  day  for  doctoring,  and  the  scarcity  of 
vacant  beds  ever  since  the  opening  of  the  new  hospital. 
Indeed  it  seems  a  practical  impossibility  to  carry  out  to 
these  people  the  message  of  love,  peace,  and  goodwill 
unless  one  can  at  the  same  time  do  something  to  alleviate 
the  terrible  physical  suffering  to  which  they  are  subject. 
Besides  being  a  most  effectual  channel  for  conveying 
balm  and  healing  to  their  souls,  the  object  lessons  given 
to  the  in-patients  must  accomplish  much  in  introducing 
new  idens  of  cleanliness  and  possible  comfort  into  their 
own  poor,  d*rty  homes. 


W9 


i:f.       I 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Scholastic   Work 

THERE  are  mnny  people  who,  not  being  quite 
up-to-date  in  missionary  literature,  have  ?-  '  v* 
that  the  work  of  a  missionary  in  such  r  ^ 

Africa  is  to  stand  under  the  shade  of  a  h,  ^n- 

hat,  umbrella,  and  palm-tree,  in  the  broiling  heat  of  the 
day,  and  preach  to  a  small  crowd  of  open-mouthed 
astoaished  semi-savages.  The  picture  does  not  attract 
them,  and  they  dismiss  the  subject  from  their  minds  with 
*'  I  could  never  be  a  missionary." 

Well,  although  I  have  found  in  Africa  the  identical 
topee,  the  umbrella,  palm-tree,  the  broiling  sun,  and  a 
few  gaping  crowds,  yet  the  picture  is  a  painful  distortion 
of  the  truth.  If  there  is  one  thing  that  a  missionary  has 
less  to  do  with  than  any  o*her,  it  is  preaching— at  least, 
that  is  so  in  Uganda.  He  rat^^er  assumes  the  rdles  of 
teacher,  schoolmaster,  builder,  '•penter,  doctor,  nurse, 
and  eveiything  else,  for  he  has  irned  that  the  African 
cannot  be  a  saint  without  b*;"ng  a  scholar  and  an  artisan, 
any  more  than  men  of  otSet  nations  can. 

Besides  the  >  re  direc.  spiritual  work  and  the  medical 
work  that  are  b^mg  carried  on  in  Toro,  there  are  also 
industrial  and  educational  departments.  This  former 
branch  has  not  been  developed  to  any  extent,  owing  to 
the  lack  of  workers,  but,  as  far  as  he  is  able.  King  Daudi 
Kasagama  personally  superintends  it.  Being  most 
anxious  that  his  people  should  be  instructed  in  useful 
trades,  some  years  ago  he  sent  a  youth,  Iburahimu,  into 

210 


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o 


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O  M 

3D 


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Scholastic  Work 


Mengo  to  be  apprenticed  for  two  years  to  carpentering  at 
the  Industrial  Mission  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 
When  the  period  had  transpired  and  the  lad  had  served 
his  time,  Daudi  wrote  to  England  ordering  Rs.300  worth 
of  tools,  and,  close  to  his  own  house,  the  King  had 
a  large  suitable  shed  erected.  Iburahimu  was  then 
installed  as  Carpenter  to  the  Royal  Household,  and 
twenty  youths,  who  had  signed  for  a  two  years' 
apprenticeship,  were  placed  under  him  for  instruction. 

Any  serving  lad  of  the  King  who  was  employed  on 
no  particular  service,  and  refused  to  be  taught,  was  put  in 
the  chain  gang  for  three  months ;  for  His  Majesty  was 
determined  to  put  a  price  on  loafing  in  his  household. 

The  entire  educational  work  of  Uganda  is  being 
carried  on  in  Church  Schools.  Receiving  no  subsidy 
from  the  British  Government,  up  to  the  present  there  has 
been  no  question  of  Education  bills,  and  consequently 
there  are  no  passive  resisters  among  the  Baganda  I 

The  School  system  is,  I  believe,  the  one  adopted  by 
the  Americans  in  their  board  schools,  where  boys  and  girls 
learn  together,  and  no  social  distinctions  are  recognized, 
but  in  Uganda,  besides  non-differentiation  of  sex  and 
caste,  there  are  also  no  age  limitation — children,  parents, 
and  grandparents  all  attend  the  reading  schools. 

On  reaching  Toro,  Miss  Pike  immediately  took  over 
this  department  of  the  work,  and  within  a  few  months 
the  School  had  outgrown  two  different  buildings,  and  an 
extension  had  to  be  contemplated  in  order  to  make  room 
for  the  300  average  daily  attendances.  As  soon  as  this 
was  made  known,  a  willing  band  of  workers  was  collected 
together  under  the  Katikiro,  and  started  throwing  out  the 
end  of  the  mud  building.  I  am  quite  sure  no  Member  of 
Parliament  ever  laboured  more  strenuously  than  this  one 
did  1  Whether  it  was  levelling  the  soil,  demolishing  the 
old  wall,  erecting  the  new,  or  roofing  it  in,  he  was 
always  in  the  thicl^  of  it.    But  his  dignity  would  not 

211 


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Si  '  3i 


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f  V 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

permit  him  to  throw  aside  any  of  his  sup^^uous 
garments !  And  the  coarse,  Jaeger-coloured  vest,  tweed 
coat  and  waistcoat,  and  top  layers  of  draperies  proved 
very  oppressive.  Every  now  and  again  he  sank  back  in 
his  chair  quite  exhausted,  gorgeous  coloured  handker- 
chiefs  were  applied  as  mops  to  his  steaming  brow,  and 
two  attendants  stood  round  with  an  umbrella  and  fan. 

A  mistress  in  these  reading  schools  must  be  free  from 
any  neuralgic  or  nervous  tendencies.  I  was  simply  over- 
come with  admiration  at  the  spirit  of  fortitude  and  calm 
endurance  that  my  colleague  was  displaying  when  I  paid 
my  first  visit  to  the  Toro  seminary.  Morning  prayers 
had  been  concluded,  and  the  School  had  sorted  itself  out 
into  about  twenty  classes,  which  represented  various 
grades,  from  the  alphabet  to  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  stage, 
and  each  was  presided  over  by  a  native  teacher.  The 
scholars  were  a  queer  medley;  chiefs  clothed  in  their 
white  linen  gowns  sat  on  tiny  round  stools,  which  they 
brought  tucked  under  their  arm,  and  in  the  same  class, 
struggling  over  the  same  letters,  were  seated  on  the 
ground  serving  boys,  probably  their  own,  and  raw  peasants. 
Women  who  had  just  left  their  cultivation  and,  strapping 
the  baby  to  their  shoulders,  hurried  oflf  to  school,  were 
sitting  with  quite  small  infants,  perhaps  being  taught 
their  syllables  by  their  own  little  daughters. 

Excepting  in  the  alphabet  classes,  the  scholars  sat  in  a 
circle  round  their  teacher  who,  with  a  strand  of  grass, 
pointed  to  the  letters  which  all  the  pupils  were  expected 
to  shout  out  together.  The  one  little  reading  sheet  only 
allowed  those  directly  in  front  to  read  the  letters  right 
way  up;  the  others,  who  were  careful  to  take  up  the 
same  position  each  day,  learnt  at  all  angles.  Quite  a 
large  proportion  of  the  Batoro  are  able  to  read  their 
books  upside  down  in  consequence.  When  all  the  classes 
were  fairly  started  and  each  of  the  three  hundred  pupils 
was  trying  his  best  to  drown  his  neighbour's  voice,  the 

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Scholastic  Work 


noise  was  indescribable.  Each  class  had  its  own  formula 
which  was  recited  metrically.  Take  for  instance,  the 
one  dealing  with  syllables  of  three  letters — all  the  pupils 
sang  out  "b — w — a,  we  call  it  bwa,"  then  the  teacher 
intoning,  asked  "  how  many  letters  and  what  are  they 
called,"  and  the  answer  was  shouted  back  "  letters  three, 
b — w — a,  and  they  are  always  bwa."  Then  they  tackled 
b — ^w — e,  b — ^w — i,  b — w — o,  in  the  same  way  and  so  on 
all  down  the  alphabet.  While  this  pandemonium  is 
going  on,  one  after  another  is  sent  up  by  his  teacher  to 
be  examined  by  the  European.  The  pupil  who  answers 
satisfactorily  is  then  given  a  pass  to  a  higher  form ;  he 
returns  to  hie  old  class  to  receive  the  profuse  congratula- 
tions of  his  contemporaries,  and  then  marches  off  to  his 
new  quarters  full  of  pride  and  elation. 

One  would  wonder  how  it  is  possible  to  ever  learn 
to  read  in  such  a  hubbub,  but  the  Batoro  have  a 
remarkable  power  of  insulating  themselves  from  their 
environment,  and  some  have  been  known  to  pass  right 
through  the  school,  from  the  alphabet  to  the  highest 
reading  class  in  four  months. 

Until  igo2  no  other  secul  x  subjects  were  taught 
excepting  writing,  but  at  that  time  it  was  thought  advis- 
able  to  increase  the  educational  work  amongst  the 
Christian  men  and  women,  consequently  two  separate 
schools  were  arranged  for  them  in  which  they  could  be 
taught  writing,  arithemtic,  geography,  and  dictation. 

Miss  Pike,  who  was  then  in  charge  of  the  women's 
work,  took  over  their  school,  and  I  was  responsible  for 
the  other. 

My  pupils  consisted  of  members  from  the  Toro  Cabinet, 
House  of  Lords  and  House  of  Commons  i  The  Katikiro, 
our  Lord  Chief  Justice,  was  nominated  school  chastiser. 
Corporal  punishment  was  his  usual  method  of  dealing 
with  a  noisy  scholar ;  with  a  sudden  bound  off  his  chair 
he  made  a  rush  at  the  culprit,  and  if  he  was  not  quite 

213 


li^    i 


%l 


^1 1 


On  the  Borders  of  Pigmy  Land 

sure  who  the  offender  was  he  struck  a  box  on  the  ears  at 
all  in  the  vicinity  of  the  noise.  The  King  reserved  tor 
himself  the  office  of  school  inspector,  and  generally 
looked  in  on  his  way  home  from  morning  service  at 
the  Church. 

Arithmetic  was  not  at  rll  an  easy  subject  to  start 
teaching  these  people,  and  they  could  not  for  a  long  time 
understand  figures  in  the  abstract.      Numaration  was  the 
thing  they  were  started  on.    With  a  blackboard  and 
chalk  I  wrote  up  the  usual  i,  lo,  loo,  and  then  attempted 
an  explanation.    One  pupil  instantly  interruptf  '  with 
'•But  what  are  the  ten?"  "Oh,  I  said,  ten  anything, 
ten  chickens  or  ten  eggs."   "  But  if  its  a  chicken  how  can 
It  be  an  egy,"  he  replied.    The  Katikiro  found      itnmetic 
very  difficult.     He  stuck  at  "twice  two"  for  days;   he 
would  insist  that  it  made  twenty,  and  even  when  he  was 
convinced  otherwise,  his  memory  refused  to  agree  with 
his  conviction.    But  when  he  at  last  mastered  the  "  two 
times"  table  and  numeration  up  to  a  million,  he  rubbed 
his   hands    with    satisfaction,    and    exclaimed    "What 
wisdom!"    When    Kasagama    heard    of  the    different 
subjects  being  taught  he  evidently  thought  that  tailoring 
ought  to  be  included,  for,  one  day  he  sent  down  a  lad 
with  a  roll  of  white  duck,  and  an  earnest  request  that  I 
would  teach  him  how  to  make  coats.     The  boy  was  sent 
away  with  an  explanation  that  in  our  country  men  did 
the  tailoring.    But  His  Majesty  was  not  to  be  put  off, 
and  so  tlie  message  came  back  "  would  '  Bv;ana  Fisher' 
teach  him  ? "    Our  prot  stations  only  called  forth  more 
beseeching  requests,  so  in  despair  I  took  i  pattern  from  a 
London  coat  and  showed  the  boy  how  to  put  it  together. 
The  result  wks  far  from  being  complimentary  to  th* 
original,  but  Kasagama  did  not  take  into  consideratioL 
the  cut,  so  much  as  the  fact  that  it  was  a  coat. 

A  few  of  the  more  promising  pupils  used  to  come 
together  each  afternoon  for  extra  instruction,  in  order 

214 


■'I  "^   -    i 


Scholastic  Work 

that  they  might  be  able  to  help  in  the  morning  school 
which  was  getting  beyond  the  work  of  one  person. 
Elementary  astronomy  was  added  to  their  list  of  subjects, 
and  was  a  theme  of  intense  interest  and  wonderment  tc 
them.  One  afternoon  a  very  simple  explanation  had 
been  given  them  on  how  the  world  was  held  up  in  space 
by  the  law  of  gravitation.  After  asking  a  number  of 
questions  they  begged  me  to  teach  them  nothing  more 
that  day,  for  they  wanted  to  take  the  words  away  and 
think  them  out.  One  man,  who  was  a  Muganda,  stayed 
behind  and  very  apclogetically,  as  if  afraid  of  suggesting 
that  he  doubted  the  veracity  of  my  words,  he  asked  if  the 
world  is  held  up  by  gravitation,  how  did  it  manage  for 
the  first  three  days,  for  in  Genesis  we  read  that  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  were  created  on  the  fourth  ! 

Uganda  to-day  presents  a  land  rising  from  a  sleep  of 
centuries.  The  outside  world  in  its  onward  march  has 
stepped  in,  and  with  its  Babel  of  Tongues  roused  the 
people  from  their  long  deep  slumber.  Thus  startled  out 
of  lethargy,  the  surprised  nation  stands  gazing  in  wonder- 
ment at  a  yreat  world  controlled  by  undreamed-of  mental 
and  moral  forces.  And  a  new  desire  has  been  born 
within  them,  a  desire  to  bring  themselves  under  the  same 
irresistible  powers.  The  possibility  is  there,  but  the 
guiding  of  the  mind  and  soul  of  the  people  cannot  be 
undertaken  by  itself.  England  holds  herself  responsible 
for  the  protection  of  its  national  life,  and  it  is  for  the 
Church  of  God  to-day  to  stand  at  the  helm,  and  steer 
past  the  rocks  and  shoals  till  the  people  have  learned  to 
take  over  the  control  themselves. 


215 


